


Oh my god, they were husbands—the remix

by venom_for_free



Series: Oh my God they were husbands [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Also there is a lot of cat content in here, Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Oblivious Otabek, Romance, Sequel, They are already married and very much in love, They try to figure out how to continue from here, Trans!Yuri, modern day America, not gonna lie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:53:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 49,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25576132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venom_for_free/pseuds/venom_for_free
Summary: Otabek stared at the clock. It was too late, wasn't it? It was probably too late. His hands were sweaty with stress. He was pacing, up and down, up and down, until Yuri grabbed his shirt and pulled him onto one of the seats."You're making me crazy. Oh my God. Bekam. Relax. Fucking RELAX. She's fine."The older woman across from them glared. Otabek could sense the 'Language!' on her tongue. But before she could say it, Yuri answered by sticking out his own. She gasped, scandalized, and walked off."Don't pick fights, it's not her fault that—""It's no one's fault. Now PLEASE, relax. She will be here any minute now and then you can go all crazy over her." Yuri's head fell back and he groaned. "Won't that be nice? Finally someone you can—" He interrupted himself.--or: The gang is back with a bunch of new tales. After finally managing to become the happy couple they deserve to be, Yuri and Otabek tackle the everyday life and the one big question left—what about a family?finished, updates on Tuesdays
Relationships: Background relationships - Relationship, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Series: Oh my God they were husbands [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971376
Comments: 319
Kudos: 230





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, darlings.  
> I am so glad to bring you the next installation of "Oh my god they were husbands."  
> Welcome to part two, the remix.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it as much as the first part, lots of love from me and Taedae, who is still one of the best people I know and my partner in crime.

Otabek stared at the clock. It was too late, wasn't it? It was probably too late. His hands were sweaty with stress. He was pacing, up and down, up and down, until Yuri grabbed his shirt and pulled him onto one of the seats. 

"You're making me crazy. Oh my God. Bekam. Relax. Fucking RELAX. She's fine." 

The older woman across from them glared. Otabek could sense the _'Language!'_ on her tongue. But before she could say it, Yuri answered by sticking out his own. She gasped, scandalized, and walked off. 

"Don't pick fights, it's not her fault that—" 

"It's no one's fault. Now PLEASE, relax. She will be here any minute now and then you can go all crazy over her." Yuri's head fell back and he groaned. "Won't that be nice? Finally someone you can—" He interrupted himself. 

"What?" 

"Nothing." 

"What?" 

"Nothing." 

"Yura." 

"It wasn't nice." 

Otabek sighed and leaned back. "I'm not even surprised." 

"HEY!" Yuri kicked his shins. "Fine, maybe I'm a little nervous, too." 

"That's no reason to be cruel." 

"I literally didn't say any—" The speakers interrupted him, announcing the arrival of the delayed transatlantic flight. Yuri turned his head, probably to tell Otabek, _'See, you stressed for nothing'_ , but his husband was already walking away. "BEKAM?!" 

Otabek ran more than walked across the airport, heading to the arrival area. He turned every few steps to make sure Yuri was following, but barely slowed down. "Юрийым? You coming?!" 

"Not in here. I hope I will eventually, but with her around that might—" Apparently today was the day of interrupted sentences because Otabek suddenly swerved to the right, merely pulling Yuri along by his shirt. 

They soon stood in front of the exit. Otabek watched the baggage claim with hawk eyes, while Yuri groaned and sat down. But finally, after they spent more than two hours in an overcrowded airport, the doors opened and spat Medina out. She flew into Otabek arms, kissed and cuddled her brother.

"I'm so happy to see you again." 

"I know! I can't believe they allowed me to stay the whole summer!" 

Yuri came over, grabbed her luggage, and gave Medina a half hug. He liked to remind the Altins that it was too warm outside for full-on cuddles. "I can't believe they allowed you to stay the entire summer, either." 

He sounded exasperated, but Otabek knew that Yuri was just teasing her. He loved Medina fiercely. 

Once everyone said their hellos, they made their way to the car. 

"I wish you would have taken the bike." Medina wrapped herself around Otabek's arm. She was a good bit younger than him, but the last few months had caused her to grow. She was now almost as tall as Yuri and could easily rest her head on Otabek's shoulder. Another summer and they would probably end up eye to eye. 

"Well, if he had taken the bike, you would have to stay here. There's only space for two people, and Otabek loves me more." Yuri stuck out his tongue and Medina did the same, tightening her grip. 

"Oh really? Well, at least I will hug him even if it's warm!" Otabek didn't feel the need to step in, he knew they were just bantering. He heard a lot of that through the phone. 

"Bekam, we will have to send her back. She's mean to me!" Yuri stage whined, now tugging on his other hand, despite the luggage handle in it. 

Otabek smirked at his husband. "I'll make it up to you." 

"EWWWW!" Medina still didn't know she had been the catalyst for Yuri's first orgasm and they planned to keep it that way. "Жынды." 

Yuri looked over. "Zhyndy?" He loved learning new Kazakh words, especially when they promised to mean something inappropriate. 

Otabek shrugged. "Hmm. Hard to describe. Crazy? Dumb? Foolish? Inappropriate? Basically Jean-Jacques." 

"Ooooooh." 

"Who's Jean-Jacques?" 

Otabek realised this would take a lot of cross-explanation. "Uhm. He's the friend of a—" 

"He's a straight guy who kept calling me _'princess'_ until he realised I'm trans, then almost died from embarrassment. But his girl is great." 

Otabek would have liked to slap his palm against his forehead, but both of his hands were occupied. 

Apparently that answer was enough, though. Medina hummed and when they finally stepped outside, hurried over to the car she recognised from their Christmas trip. "Let's go home, let's go home, let's go home!" 

"Home, huh?" Yuri couldn't hide the smirk in the corner of his lips, but he did try. 

\----------

"Do you think Potya missed me?" Once they were all buckled in, Medina leaned forward, tipping her head over to rest between the seats. She held on to the headrests, obviously excited. 

"I don't think so. Potya hates brats." 

This time, it was Otabek who struggled to hide his laughter. "Why does she love you that much, then?" 

Yuri slapped his thigh in mock-shock. Medina tensed, and the atmosphere in the car became suddenly suspended. They were laughing one moment, and the next, everyone seemed to be holding their breath. 

Then, all three exhaled at once. Otabek could see questions dancing in Medina's eyes through the rearview mirror. _'Is it okay to call a man a brat?', 'Is it okay to hit your partner, even as a joke?',_ maybe even _'Did Potya really not miss me?'._ Even with how progressive Medina was, their cultural understandings clashed sometimes. But instead of going for the heavy hitters, Otabek decided to focus on the question he could answer. 

"I don't think Potya got over the half of pirozhki you dropped for her. She'll probably love you forever." 

Yuri huffed, but he looked happy about the topic change, too. "I never got over that, either, by the way. And I will hate you forever." 

Medina answered with a soft, careful chuckle from the backseat. Some tension lingered, but Otabek hoped things would ease over time. 

The way home reminded him about their first night together, all those months back during the Altins' last visit, when Otabek had slipped up with Yuri's pronouns. When Medina asked to call him _'he'_ , and somehow forced a truce between them. The drive today was silent instead, but it felt familiar. Otabek wasn't sure if he liked that memory. There were other ones, different ones from that visit, that he treasured much more. 

\----------

Otabek could tell Yuri was stressed from the way he unlocked the door. That was oddly specific, yes, but it didn't change the fact that he knew his husband and the way he usually moved through the apartment. 

Over the last few months, Yuri had turned a lot of his previous furniture-store aesthetic into a cluttered, but obviously lived in and loved mess. There was decor now. Big, heavy cat figurines, massive enough so Potya couldn't shove them off the shelves. Yuri had sat down one afternoon with the nugget and Mila to hand craft pot hangers. Now, Otabek's ceiling was filled with holes. Dead plants hung everywhere. Yuri was motivated to make them, but not to water them, and Otabek had no time or motivation. They were a monument of their failure, but Yuri refused to take them down. Because it had taken so long to prepare. 

Mila gave them a big pot with little stones a while ago, hoping Potya would leave them alone. But one afternoon, Yuri found her eating some, and an expensive vet visit later, the pot was banned. 

Otabek liked to read hardcover books, enjoyed big shelves full of them. They had a huge fight when he learned Yuri put a dog ear on the page he was stopping on. One or two books had been thrown and Yuri slept in the guest room that night. Since then, he was demonstratively reading magazines only, that he marked in the weirdest ways he could think of, just to piss Otabek off. At one point, he stuck two pages together with bubble gum, which was _disgusting_ , but fun to watch as Yuri tried to pry them apart again without tearing the paper. That magazine eventually flew across the room, too. 

Otabek had picked it up and tossed it out, a small peace offering. Yuri made pirozhki with kazy sausages for dinner. They tasted terrible and Yuri looked quite uncomfortable when Otabek told him the dish was made of horse meat, but overall, they tried. 

Not everything that glittered was gold, not even the Altins. 

But on the other hand, a lot of things went well over the last few months. Yuri found a binder that he swore he could barely feel. It sat so comfortable in comparison, Otabek had to keep reminding him to take it off. 

Ramadan went well, too, at least from Yuri's perspective. Mostly because Otabek's family had _insisted_ on him coming to Kazakhstan for the entire month, but he refused and stayed in America. His mother had been angry—mostly at Yuri, never at her golden boy—but Yuri didn't even pretend to care. He knew Otabek wasn't religious and that there were a lot of complicated situations connected to international travel. Of course, Otabek wouldn't tell his parents the truth. That he refused to show up because he wouldn't leave Yuri alone for a month, and that he also wouldn't force Yuri through the incredibly uncomfortable and dysphoria-inducing process of pretending for that long. 

So they stayed in America instead. Every evening, they received photos of a stocked breakfast table, photographed long before the sun arose, and every morning, Yuri stubbornly tried out another traditional Kazakh dish, just to send a picture back. It didn't matter that Otabek wasn't fasting, or that their breakfast table was illuminated by daylight. He tried. 

Yuri's favorite thing wasn't even the fact that Otabek's mother began to praise him halfway through it. It was learning about each other's culture. 

Otabek often cooked traditional Russian food for dinner. They sent those pictures to Alexander and Ekaterina, who were excited beyond measure. Otabek cooking for their _'daughter'_ , and Russian food on top of that, was much more than they expected. 

They spent fun days in the fitness studio, the mall, their apartment or a bar, and fun nights in each other's arms. Otabek had expected Yuri to drop his oral fixation at some point, especially now that they had extended their repertoire, but Yuri was still full of joy on his hands and knees. Well, Otabek definitely wouldn't hold him back. Some nights it was the wish to be close or to bring pleasure. Some nights it was dysphoria. Some nights it was Yuri taking control. But whenever it happened, Otabek knew Yuri wouldn't do anything he didn't want to, so he gladly let his husband have whatever he desired. 

Otabek could tell Yuri would have liked to drag him into the bedroom right now. He didn't know _why_ , but Yuri had this … habit. When he was stressed, he would find Otabek and _motivate him_ to help Yuri destress. It was better than cigarettes or wine, Otabek supposed. And if he was honest with himself, he would have to admit that he loved Yuri's possessive, assertive personality. But now, his baby sister was walking right behind him, and Yuri's nervous buzzing made him tense. 

"Medina, you know where your room is?" 

She wasn't listening. Medina spotted Potya sitting on the sofa, and the cat jumped up immediately. The human who dropped food for her, right from the table. The godly human. Potya's friend. It was half a year ago, but the cat never forgot food. She rubbed up against Medina almost instantly. 

"Traitor." Yuri hadn't forgiven Otabek's sister for her sins. Whenever the topic came up, he would scream that it had been a perfectly good pirozhki. _'There was no reason to drop it!'_ Except Potya's undying love. 

Medina answered both Yuri and the purring furball to her feet with a chuckle. Then, she lifted the cat, and somehow managed to avoid getting her entire face scratched. "You've gotten fat, haven’t you?" 

Yuri gaped. "EXCUSE ME?" 

Oh well, that was enough for the first day. Otabek stepped between his sister and Yuri, then took Potya from Medina. "Don't worry, you're a beautiful princess. My sister is just used to starving street cats." Potya began to purr, as if she understood. "Medina? Please go and unpack. Yura and I will prepare dinner." 

She nodded and hurried off, an excited spring in her step. Once she was gone, Otabek handed Potya to Yuri. The purring continued, luckily for them all. 

For a moment, Yuri pouted. He simply stared at Otabek, squinting, assessing. Then, he placed the furry beast to the floor and threw himself into his husband's arms. "Why am I so stressed? I like her." 

"Maybe that's why? You want for things to work out?" 

"Yeah but … when I'm tense, I'm mean." 

"I know, Юрийым. We all know." 

Yuri kicked his leg, but then slumped against Otabek's chest once more. For a while, they simply held each other to the soundtrack of Potya's inconvenienced crying. She wanted the attention for herself, but no. Not with Yuri being so stressed. 

"I guess you won't let me blow you?" 

"In general? Yes. Right now? No." 

"Damn." 

Otabek couldn't suppress a chuckle. "You'll survive. It's just dinner and a movie. Maybe not even a movie. She will be terribly jet lagged." 

Yuri nodded, squeezing him tight. By now, Otabek understood there were different levels of an annoyed Yuri. Angry-loud, angry-silent and needy-clingy. Apparently, they reached the last stage. He would never admit it for obvious reasons, but that was Otabek's favorite. 

"I love you, алтыным." 

Yuri smiled. Being called _‘altinym’_ always got him, possessive streak and all. _'My gold. My treasure. My Altin.'_ Yuri wore his new name with pride. "I love you, too, zhanym." 

And okay, Otabek was weak for Yuri calling him _'my soul'_ in his mother tongue, but with an _'I love you'_ , it was just a hundred times more deadly. 

He tilted Yuri's head up for a gentle kiss, just as Medina walked back in. The little shit grinned at them, then whispered, "Ha. Gay." 

Both Otabek and Yuri groaned in unison. 

\------------

"I don't know why it stresses me so much." 

Otabek was sure right now wasn't the best moment to talk about this, but Yuri couldn't be deterred. When he decided he wanted to pour his heart out while sitting on his husband, he would. But that didn't stop Otabek from trying. "Are you sure you want to discuss this right now?" He squeezed Yuri's hips, hoping he would at least sit still—if they _had_ to talk about his sister _while he was inside him_. 

"Why not? She's not here?" Yuri was still rolling his hips, driving Otabek deeper again and again. 

"I don't know? Maybe because I don't want to think about my sister during sex?" He tried it with _'blunt'_ , hoping Yuri would understand. 

"Oh, so you're not wondering if she might hear us?" 

Shit, that wasn't helping at all. He insistently stilled Yuri, and looked at him with a fearful expression. "What if she hears us?!" 

Yuri shrugged. "We are married, we live together, we love each other. That's more than most children have with their own parents. Also, your entire family can't wait for me to _finally_ fall pregnant. Everyone knows we fuck, Beka. They just don't know you put it in the wrong hole. But if you ask me, they don't _have_ to have that information." 

Otabek groaned. "Why do you have to be so crude about everything? Is it really wrong that I don't want to traumatise my little sister?" 

"How many siblings do you have?" 

"It's not like we were all present when they were conceived! And my parents' home is big enough. You don't have to listen to others through walls, you know?" 

Now it was Yuri who groaned. He threw his leg over Otabek's body, dismounting in a dramatic, yet somehow clumsy way. "Fine. Looks like we won't fuck for the next few weeks, then." 

How did they end up here? All Otabek wanted was to keep it quiet. But Yuri had already turned his back to him and was angrily shimmying out of his harness. 

Well, fuck. Now Otabek was horny, confused, sad, angry _and_ stressed. He wasn't sure it would make sense to try and talk now. And just when he psyched himself up enough to try anyway, Potya began to scream from the hallway. 

Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then Yuri rolled over, just enough to glare at him. "You better let her in, or she'll wake your sister!" 

Looked like talking now was out of the question. 

\------------

The next day was uncomfortable to say the least. When Otabek went to work, Yuri was still asleep. Once he returned, Medina told him Yuri just left for university. So he sat down with his sister and Potya instead. For a while, they simply listened to music and read. The Altins weren't made for smalltalk. But eventually, Medina seemed to struggle holding her words in. 

"Why does Yuri hate me?" 

Otabek felt as if he had been submerged in ice water. "What?!" 

She looked down at the book in her hands, cautiously balanced. "Yuri. He seemed to like me when I was here during the winter. But now I wonder if he only liked me _best_. You know, the smallest evil?" 

He closed his book and leaned forward. Medina didn't look like a teenager anymore, but like a child, stranded in a country far away from home with people she doubted wanted her there. Otabek immediately moved and pulled her into his arms. 

"That's not it, айналайын." He knew, calling her _‘cute’_ or _‘precious’_ in a way that implied she was still a child was dangerous, but Medina relaxed against him, nonetheless. That was the ultimate proof of how uncomfortable she was. How long had she been hiding it? "Yura likes you. He's just …" 

"Complicated?" Otabek frowned at her. That wasn't the word he had in mind, but Medina explained herself quickly. "That's what mom says when dad does something she doesn't like." 

"Oh." He hadn't been home in a while, which was becoming more and more evident. Back when Otabek lived with them, his mother wouldn't have chosen words so bold. He wondered where that came from. 

"No … he's just … insecure, I guess." Otabek sighed and kissed the top of Medina's head. Even if he felt divided from his parents, the last half a year brought him and his sister closer. 

"He shouldn't be. He's very handsome." 

"You can be insecure about more things than looks, though." 

"He's also a good cook." Otabek smiled and kissed her head again. Wouldn't it be nice if that was all there was? A little too nice to be true. "Is it because of his … _you know_?" 

Otabek didn't know. He had an idea, but what if he was wrong? "His what?" 

"His body? Because it doesn't align with how he would like it to be? _Down there?_ " 

Maybe. Probably. His sex and gender played a big part in Yuri's life. But Otabek wasn't entirely sure if that was it. "I don't really know. Maybe. I think there's a lot going on right now." Though, him being busy with uni or Potya's vet visit weren't exactly reasonable explanations for their weird interaction yesterday. Otabek tried to remember how the situation even began, then frowned. "He told me he doesn't know why he's so stressed about this. So it's definitely not systematic or anything." 

Medina nodded. She leaned against her brother. For a moment they stayed silent, trying to figure Yuri out, until both resigned and picked their books back up. 

That's how Yuri found them when he came back from his study group an hour later. He barely greeted them, then disappeared into the bedroom. Otabek thought about going after him, but the lock clicking in place painted a very clear picture. 

So Yuri was still angry. Understood. But why? It's not like Otabek had pushed him away. Right? 

He was unsure now. Had he said something that ruffled Yuri's feathers? There was no mention of the usual triggers. He scratched the back of his neck, trying to make sense of it, when Medina slumped over even more. 

"So he hates you, too, then?" 

Otabek smiled softly. "Looks like it. At least tonight." 

She took his hand and exhaled, almost carefully, almost as if she was afraid to say the wrong thing. "We can have a sleepover if he won't let you in?"

"Yeah … sounds fun." Otabek got up slowly. "Maybe that's a good idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are back with the gang and I brought Medina for you!  
> I hope y'all are happy with the opener. Please let me know what you think!  
> Lots of love!
>
>> Thank you for reading and interacting with me and my work!  
> I'm also on  
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 1: Yuri and Otabek travel to the airport to bring Medina home. She will spend the summer with them. But the atmosphere is tense and eventually, it keeps escalating until Yuri locks out Otabek for the night. He decides to have a sleepover with Medina instead.

It was not a good idea. For multiple reasons. 

One, Medina was an incredibly troubled sleeper. She rolled around the entire night, never really finding peace. Otabek received two or three elbows to the side and his face. 

Two, he was used to Yuri next to him, snuggled against Otabek's chest. On the one hand, it was liberating not to be trapped against his warm body in the summer heat, but on the other hand, it was wrong. Otabek found himself seeking his husband's proximity again and again, just to be kicked by his sister. 

Three, he had no clothes in the guest room. So when he eventually had to leave for work, Otabek needed to return to their bedroom, anyway. 

There was only one problem. The door was still locked. He hadn't expected Yuri to be this stubborn, but here he was, stuck in a shirt and the underwear from yesterday, waiting in the hallway. 

Otabek had no other option but to knock. Potya answered before Yuri did. He heard the  _ plomp  _ of her jumping off the bed, and then the  _ tiptaps _ of Potya's little feet running to the door. Once standing in front of it, she began to scream. Had Yuri locked her in without access to the litter box?! 

Otabek knocked again, a little harder. Eventually, Yuri opened the door, looking every inch as pissed as Otabek expected. "Look who's trying to crawl back  _ now _ ."

He blinked. Well, that was awkward. "I'm … not crawling back. I'm just getting clothes for work." In the corner of the room, Otabek spotted the litter box. Well, that was something. 

"Wait." Yuri shifted, looking him up and down as if he was seeing Otabek for the first time. He turned and glared at the windows. "What time is it?" 

"Just after six." Otabek rolled his shoulder. "I have to go to work. My clothes are in here." 

Yuri looked pissed before, but now, his face blanked. "It's morning already." He wasn't asking. He saw the sun shining through the blinds. 

"Yeah." 

"You slept on the sofa." Yuri shivered visibly, even though it was summer and their bedroom was warm. 

"Not really." 

His displayed emotions changed yet again. This time, there was anger. Hurt. Possessiveness. Disbelieve. Frustration. "Where the  _ FUCK  _ have you been, Otabek Altin?!" 

And now, he could see the situation from the outside. He hadn't come looking for Yuri, simply disappeared for the night. He showed up in the morning, in only a shirt and used underwear, demanding not to talk but to get to his clothes. And to Yuri’s knowledge, he hadn't been at home. Yuri probably thought he slept somewhere else, or worse,  _ with  _ someone else. "махаббатым …" 

" _ 'Mahabbatym' _ , my ass!  _ 'My love' _ my  _ fucking  _ ass, Otabek. WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN?!" 

"Calm do—" He interrupted himself when Yuri looked like he was about to skin Otabek alive. "I've been in the guest bedroom! Medina asked for a sleepover when she realised you locked me out!" 

Fuck, they were getting too loud. They would wake her if they kept yelling at each other. 

Yuri growled and turned around. He stomped back to the bed and dropped onto the mattress, then pulled the blanket over his head. Apparently, the stifling heat was better than talking to Otabek. 

"Юрийым." 

"No." 

"алтыным." 

"I said no!" He sounded less scorching. 

"Do you want me to go? I can just leave you alone. I have to go to work anyway." For a moment, there was silence, then Otabek noticed little sniffles coming from under the blanket. Internally, he sighed. If Yuri would just talk to him  _ properly _ for once ... He turned and left the room. 

When he was in the hallway, Yuri's voice reached him again. "FOR REAL, ALTIN?!" 

Otabek thought about yelling back, but he simply returned to the guest bedroom and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Medina looked at him with big, sad eyes, so he patted her head. "We will be fine. Don't worry. I'll talk to him." She nodded, and Otabek walked over to his husband, who was back to angry sniffling, but this time, above the blanket. 

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO CRAWL BACK NOW." 

"I'm not crawling back." He sat down on his side of the bed. "There's nothing I need to crawl for." Yuri drew his eyebrows together and opened his mouth, half gasping and half ready to protest, but Otabek simply pressed the call button. "Leo? Yeah, hi. I'm sorry, there's an emergency I need to take care of. I'm not going to come in before lunch, can you cover for me? Yes. I know. No. Yeah, they are fine. I'll try to be back after lunch." 

Yuri watched him with small, angry, red and wet eyes. Even crying, he looked fierce. "Oh, I'm an emergency now? But you had no problem staying away the entire night!" 

"Would you rather I go to work? I bet Leo wouldn't mind." 

Yuri sneered at him and raised his arms to cross them, then slumped into a terrible pose for a dancer. Otabek recognised it as his defensive position. Yuri didn't answer his question. He was too proud to admit that he needed Otabek. 

It was frustrating. Most of the time they worked out well. Yuri would talk, Otabek would listen, they were a happy symbiosis. But when Yuri began to build walls, there was only so much Otabek could do. 

"What is this actually about, Юрийым?"

Yuri scrunched up his nose and only relaxed his arms when Potya crawled onto his lap and began to wail. "Nothing." 

Oh well, there they went. They had been further than this. Why was Yuri falling back into the behavior he showed half a year ago when his mother— 

Otabek's thought process froze. It was about their family, wasn't it? After the wedding, Otabek's half seemed to love Yuri, but Christmas painted a more complex picture. Yuri had taken most of that to heart, even though he tried to act tough. And now, Medina was back, reminding him of all that. That must be the answer. 

"You know she loves you. Right?" 

Yuri's frown deepened. "Who?" 

"Medina." 

He was still in defense mode, but Yuri straightened his spine the tiniest bit. So Otabek was right. "Yeah. Sure. She loves  _ you _ . I'm just here, too." 

It was a riddle to him how someone so strong, fierce and vibrant could also be so full of their own shit. Yuri was a deep pit of self-doubt under all his fire, and most days, he covered it so well, Otabek forgot. "She literally asked me yesterday why you hate her." 

Yuri's face darkened, he leaned forward again, arms pulling tighter. A step back into a confrontational stance. But necessary. "I don't hate her. That's total bullshit." 

"She doesn't feel that way. She wanted to know if you were only kind to her during Christmas because she was the lesser evil." 

That caused Yuri to sit up straight. He gaped. "WHAT?" Otabek shrugged. He knew it was hard for Yuri to hear things like that, but it was a necessity. "Why would she say something like that?!" 

"You weren't exactly welcoming towards her, I guess." 

"Oh my God, fuck you! How is that supposed to help me?!" Yuri was roaring again. Whenever he was angry at himself, it was worse than being angry with others. "I didn't do anything!" 

"That might be it. You barely welcomed her. The car ride was weird and then she went to bed early. I thought you two did something together when I went to work yesterday but then she told me you holed up all day until you left. Yuri, she whispered that to me, under her blanket, as if it was a dirty secret. And then you came home, didn’t talk to us, disappeared and locked  _ both _ of us out for the night. Literally, not just figuratively." 

Yuri was shaking by the time he finished. Otabek wasn't sure if it was with anger, or hurt, or sadness, or … Yuri had so many emotions, he was like a kaleidoscope of feelings. Most of the time, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Sometimes, it was frightening. 

"I don't hate her." That was a first step, Otabek guessed. Yuri was still shaking, though, so there was obviously more to it. Yuri had always been like that, bottling everything up until it exploded out of him. "I  _ don't. _ Hate. Her."

Was he trying to convince Otabek or himself? "Okay." 

"I DON'T. HATE. HER!" This time, Yuri looked up. There were tear streaks on his face. When had they gotten there? Otabek hadn't even realised Yuri was crying again. But there were little sounds falling unabated from his lips. Sobs. 

Suddenly, Otabek felt like the worst person in the world. He made Yuri cry. Again. And even though they were fighting … there should have been a way to solve this in a kinder manner. "Yura …" 

" _ No! _ " Otabek leaned away. He felt as if Yuri struck him across the face, but once that happened, Yuri clamped his hands over his mouth. He pulled them away, not without effort, to whisper his next words. "No. Please. Call me one of the others." 

"The others …?" 

Yuri's bottom lip wobbled, and there were fresh tears in his eyes. He was obviously past his stages of loud and silent anger, his words now only whispers. "The Kazakh ones." 

Oh. Otabek couldn't stop the tiny smile distorting his blank mask. Oh, well. He scooted over a little, toward the middle of the bed, and raised his arm. Yuri dove under it as if his life depended on it. He threw himself against Otabek's chest and cried softly. 

"Юрийым. жаным. махаббатым. сүйіктім.  күнім."  _ My Yuri. My soul. My love. My chosen one. My sun. _

Yuri curled a hand into his shirt and tugged on it. "Say the other." 

"Which one?" Otabek struggled to hide his smile. He knew exactly what Yuri meant. 

"The … the …" 

"Why don't you say it?" 

He kissed the top of Yuri's head, and it bubbled out of his husband, as if someone had knocked over a full water bottle.  "Altinym. Altinym. Altinym." Yuri sobbed between the words and rubbed his face across Otabek's shirt. He decided to ignore the snot and the tears and instead held his partner.  _ My gold. My treasure. My Altin.  _

Otabek kissed his head a few more times, then confirmed, "алтыным." For a long while, they simply held each other. 

\-- 

Otabek woke around ten. He hadn't even realised he fell back asleep, but apparently, the entire fight had taken more out of him than he thought. 

"Yura?" 

"The Kazakh one." His voice was clear and steady, so Yuri must have been awake for at least a few minutes. If he slept again, that was. 

"Юрийым?" 

"Better. And yes?" 

Otabek tightened his arms and leaned down, tentatively offering Yuri a kiss. The latter sniffled and cupped Otabek's jaw to pull him in. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." 

More silence, but it was comfortable again. Eventually, though, Otabek wanted answers. "What happened?" 

Yuri shrugged. He curled and uncurled his toes, starting at his feet as if he could grasp the answer out of thin air. "I'm stressed." 

"Yeah. That was kind of obvious." Otabek received a light punch in retaliation, but he didn't mind. He kind of deserved that one. 

"Medina … when you're around her …" 

That wasn't a sentence start he had expected. Otabek frowned and turned his head. "Then?" 

"Then I can see you. All of you. And all you could be. You know? The way you act around her. So kind and caring and worried and—" Oh no. Otabek had an idea where this was going, and it explained everything. "—and I will never be able to give that to you!" 

There it was. How had he not realised this earlier? There was only one topic that got Yuri so defensive. Otabek sighed and hugged his husband. "жаным. I don't expect you to give me that. She's my sister, you know? It's completely different. And even if it wasn't … what my parents want isn't what I want." 

"But you  _ like _ kids." 

"I love them. But I also love you. And I would never force you through anything. If we decide we are ready, we will adopt. That's it." He pressed Yuri against his own chest, and kissed his head again. "I love you for being my husband. Not my wife. And even if you were my wife, I wouldn't expect you to birth me children. Okay?" 

"Okay." Yuri sniffled a little, then he threw his leg over Otabek's, and half-climbed into the makeshift embrace. "But you looked so cute, all cuddled up on the sofa. It was adorable. And the way you worried at the airport. And cooked dinner. And now … you had a sleepover! Without me!" 

"I mean, the last one was more a necessity, but—" 

"I don't hate her, Beka. I hate that she makes me realize what a great father you would be." 

Otabek took a slow breath. Then, he squeezed Yuri again. "She's my sister and I barely see her. Of course I worry, and of course I spoil her, and of course we goof around. But … you can't compare that. I am not responsible for her education, for her morals, for her religion … saying I'm cute around her, so I'd be a good father, is like saying  _ 'dude, that guy could eat so much candy in the toy store, I bet he would be great as a CEO in a candy company' _ . The topic is the same, but the frame of reference is completely different." 

Yuri was silent for a moment, then he huffed out a little laugh. "Okay, one, that metaphor is weaker than Minami at arm wrestling. And two … holy shit, Altin, that was a lot of words." 

Otabek rolled his eyes first and then bit into the sensitive skin of Yuri's skalp. "You're such a dumb idiot sometimes, Altin." 

"Well then, I guess we match." If he was honest with himself, Otabek had no idea what he had done to deserve that title, but he didn't care. All he wanted was for Yuri to be happy, and it sounded like they were on a good track. "Come on, teddy.  _ I'll _ make Beshbarmark for lunch and  _ you’ll  _ forget that I locked you out because I couldn't handle how cute you are around your sister?" 

It sounded like a bad deal, it really did, but … Otabek was weak for traditional Kazakh food. And since Yuri had  _ somehow _ managed to convince Mama Altin to hand over the family recipe, he used it as leverage for pretty much everything. Otabek wasn't even mad. "Under one condition." 

Yuri leaned back to take him in, calculating. "What?" 

"You'll prepare it together with Medina." 

\----------- 

**_"OTABEK!"_ ** He flinched when the voice from the kitchen tore him out of his thoughts. Otabek sat in the living room, trying to work from home as best as he could, while Yuri and Medina were trying to cook together. Trying. "OTABEK, SHE WANTS TO TOSS THREE POUNDS OF MEAT INTO THE DAMN FOOD! WE AREN'T HOSTING A GALA DINNER, MAKE HER STOP!" 

Oh well. Leo would have to work through that on his own for a while. "Coming." The kitchen looked like a damn battlefield. How? Otabek had no idea. After all, Medina and Yuri were at step ONE. Choose a slab of meat and start a stew with it. Not that hard. But apparently, it was. 

Medina was already cutting three peeled potatoes apart, putting them into water, and shoving them away for later. "Why is it wrong to cook for more people? We can hand it to the neighbors!" 

Yuri rolled his eyes, currently tossing flour, salt, an egg, and water together to make pasta. "Our neighbors aren't exactly our biggest fans." 

"Because you're gay?" 

"Because I'm loud." 

Silence. Awkward, terrible, stretching silence. 

"Oh." 

Yuri shrugged when Otabek gave him a very unamused look. "What? It's true." 

"She's thirteen." 

Yuri shrugged again. "You know damn well I have zero experience with kids." 

"I'm not a kid!" 

Otabek really,  _ really _ wanted to get out of that kitchen. "Just … make a bigger piece of meat. We can freeze it if it's too much." 

Yuri huffed, but complied, and tossed the entire chunk into the water. It splashed everywhere, but neither Yuri nor Medina felt the need to clean it up. Otabek suddenly understood why the kitchen looked like that. He helped get rid of the spill, then turned around to the living room once more. 

"I still have to work. Please try to get along, okay?" With the meat needing to cook for almost two hours, he knew there would be tension. Both nodded, but Otabek didn't trust the peace yet, though he still returned to his job. Or tried to, with the noise constantly coming from the kitchen. 

Otabek wasn't sure when they eventually quieted down, but once he stood up to go and use the toilet, he noticed all the yelling was gone. Instead, there came a broken, yet consistent stream of quiet laughter from the kitchen. When he looked around the corner, he found the pasta batter resting on the counter, spread thin and looking ready to be cut, but Yuri and Medina were focused on a phone. 

"This is one of the kittens. They were so tiny! Tiny toe beans! And yelling from hunger, so Batima and I had to hand feed them. Don't worry, the mother wasn't dead, just really hungry, too, so she struggled to produce milk." 

Otabek should have known. Otabek should have known that the direct way into Yuri's heart was through kitten pictures and feel good stories about rescuing the felines. It should have been the first thing he recommended to Medina. 

Yuri noticed him eventually and looked up, smiling softly. He gave his husband the tiniest nod, confirming that they were fine, and Otabek returned to the living room. 

Maybe it wouldn't be such an exhausting time, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They managed to taaaalk. Some old struggles are left for them to work through. Otabek spends time with the family and they cook. How are y'all vibing with the story right now?
>
>> I hope you liked it and are in a good place. Thank you for reading!  
> I'm also on  
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap chapter two: Yuri and Otabek talk through their problems, eventually. They root back to old struggles, but they navigate them together. Otabek took half a day off to spend time with his sister and husband. The latter two end up cooking together, bonding over kitten videos.

"Bekam?" 

"Hmm?" Yuri climbed onto the sofa next to him, but he didn't keep his distance. Instead, he crawled onto Otabek's lap and smiled. "What is it and how much does it cost?" 

Yuri laughed instead of accusing him, which was a giant indicator he was on the right track. "I'm just here to cuuuuddleeeee." 

Otabek wrapped his arms around his husband and pulled him into a small kiss. "Yeah. No. That's a lie. But I appreciate it. It's been a long day and you in my lap always helps." 

This time, Yuri swatted at him, but his expression stayed fond. "You should have just taken all day off. Going into work after you basically ate yourself into a lunch-coma wasn't your best idea." 

Both of Otabek's hands wandered to Yuri's ass and patted it twice. "It's not my fault the beshbarmark was so delicious. I was blessed by two kitchen fairies." 

Yuri playfully squinted at him. "I'm not a fairy. I'm … I don't know. A punk. A tiger." 

"My lunch was cooked by a fairy and a punk?" 

"Sounds like a rock band. Medina and I should look into that. I feel like it would sell out all the big arenas in no time. I'm playing drums. None of us can sing too well, so Medina will have to get her funk on. You can play base, I guess. And she gets the lead guitar." 

"I'm in your band, too? I'm honored." Otabek chuckled and pulled Yuri closer. 

"Only to play base. It's the easiest instrument, I feel like you could manage." 

He gasped, pretending to be insulted. "What, because I'm just clever enough to repeatedly hit the same four chords?" 

"Nah, Beka. The four chords are for Medina.  _ You _ only play the base line. The rhythm, so to speak." 

"That's so rude. I'm not even in the name of the band. And I'm just a necessity while you get to do all the fun stuff." 

"I know. Your life is terrible. Do you know what would make it better?" 

Otabek raised an eyebrow, amused by Yuri's approach. "Is this where your actual sales pitch starts? Because I have to admit, the last part was kinda shitty." 

Yuri made a big show off sighing dramatically. "Weeeeeell. You know, Bekam, if my company is such an inconvenience to you, wouldn't it be nice to have someone else? Someone who you could love and cuddle to your heart's content?" 

What the fuck? What the damn hell was this? Was Yuri trying to introduce another person into their relationship?! Had he snapped and looked for a third party to carry their child? Was Otabek not enough? Was it a sexual thing? Should he be worried? What was— 

Otabek only realised he had zoned out when Yuri looked at him, a wide, pleading smile on his features. "Uh … sorry … huh?" 

Yuri pursed his lips, then pouted. "It's a good idea, Bekam." 

That's not what he thought. How would a third person be a good idea? All Otabek wanted was his Yuri and to be happy with him, especially after long days like these. Why did he have to go and drag others into this when— 

"Otabek?! Are you even listening?!" 

_ Shit.  _ No. He hadn't been. Instead of a proper answer, he gave Yuri a worried look. 

"Listen. I know it's a commitment, and I know it's going to need a phase when everyone gets used to it, and I know, it will be frustrating for a while but—" 

No. No no no no no no no. Yuri couldn't actually mean that, he couldn't actually think that— 

"—and I feel like Potya would be happier if she—" 

Wait. What? Why should their cat have an opinion on—

"—and that's why I'm convinced she should have kittens. At least once in her life." 

This was about Potya. Yuri wanted baby kittens. Otabek chuckled, feeling a little insane right now. "You … you want to have baby cats." 

"Hi, hello! Earth calling Altin, hello? We are so glad we found you after you've apparently been lost in time and space for fifteen minutes!  _ Yes,  _ Otabek. I want kittens. And there's a bunch of reasons why this is a good—" 

"Yes." 

Yuri froze. He blinked in rapid succession, then tilted his head to the side. "Really?" 

"Yeah." 

"That … was easier than I thought." 

Otabek squeezed his ass again. "Full disclosure, I thought you wanted to introduce another person to our relationship. You can have fifty kittens if I don't have to share you with another human." 

Yuri leaned forward, foreheads resting together. "Be careful, Altin. We might end up with a cat army." 

"I don't care. As long as you're only  _ my _ kitten …" 

"I'm a tiger. I already told you." Yuri grinned and gave him a long, slow kiss. "You know, allowing me to have baby kittens is already very, very sexy. But knowing that it only happened because you were jealous and wanted to keep me to yourself … that's top tier attractive, zhanym." Yuri began to rock against his lover. "Let me show you how grateful I am?" 

Otabek nodded slowly. He stood up, Yuri still wrapped around his waist, and carried him to the bedroom. 

"Remember. Medina is asleep." Yuri nodded and began to kiss all over Otabek's neck. "You know the rules. If I have to be quiet, I'll have to let the steam off in other ways." 

"You could also just … not claw my back open." 

Yuri was already sucking dark marks onto Otabek's skin, making sure they were covered by his clothes. "I'm a tiger. Sorry but I'm afraid I'm legally entitled to marking my mate like that." 

"Tigers don't form deeper emotional bonds. They don't have mates." 

"I'm a lion then. Oh my God, shut the fuck up!" Yuri rolled his hips against Otabek, even though he was still being carried. "Just put your fucking dick into me, Altin." 

Otabek laughed and sat him down. "Lions are known for being gay." 

"Thank you, national geographics. Hhhmhmm, baby. Talk big cat facts to me, I'm already so fucking hard." 

Suppressing another laugh took more energy than Otabek was willing to invest, so instead he bent over Yuri to shower him in kisses. "Cheetahs can't roar, but they can purr." 

"Fuck yes, Otabek, I'm almost there." Yuri shook his head in a mix of exasperation and amusement, before he pulled off his shirt. 

"They call lions  _ 'king of the jungle' _ , but actually, they don't live there. Tigers do." 

"What the fuck, teddy." Yuri tugged off his husband's shirt, too. 

"Lions are the only big cats with a tasseled tail." 

Yuri mock-moaned, then began to work on Otabek's pants. "They are also called a pride, which is convenient as a representation for any big cat gay ever. Now stop talking and start putting your fingers where I can't see them." He gave up his plan to free Otabek from his pants and instead worked his own off. Yuri fell backward onto the bed and spread his legs to invite his husband in. "Come on, big boy. Give me your kittens." 

Otabek cringed noticeably, causing Yuri to laugh at him. At this point, he had managed to pull his pants off and was palming the packer through his underwear. Gaze hungry, he invited his partner to play. Otabek followed the silent request and began to kiss the outline of Yuri's dick. One of his hands fell between Yuri's legs to fondle his balls, the other began to work his own clothes off. 

Even after all those months, Yuri still liked to do nothing but watch at this point in their play. Otabek was fascinated by the way Yuri’s body kept changing. He was buffer now, barely wearing a binder anymore, because he had trained his chest almost flat during endless hours in the gym. His legs could kill a man in a hundred ways, but Otabek still prayed to them and enjoyed kissing every millimeter of them. No longer shaving helped Yuri to feel a lot better, too, not because body hair was a masculine trait in itself, but because it meant actively choosing to drop societal expectations. He wore his hair down to his shoulders again, but part of it was shorn short. Otabek kept losing himself in the prickly sensation of a fresh cut, just like Yuri did with him. 

He barely realised they went from recounting useless animal facts to sucking and biting each other's skin, until Yuri kneed his crotch in an attempt to topple them over. Then, he apologized profoundly, making sure to kiss the area of his crimes better. Needless to say, he also had to deepthroat it better. Otabek wouldn't complain. Yuri taking all of him with practised ease was still one of the hottest things on Earth. 

"Darling, if you wanted to suck my dick, you could have asked. No need to crush my balls." Yuri didn't like his joke and pulled back enough to gently bite the tip. There was a glint in his eyes, a playful question, an unvoiced need. But Otabek knew him by now and even though they still managed to fuck up communication sometimes, their bedroom navigation skills had increased significantly. "You want to top?" 

Yuri bit his lip and nodded. "I know I said you should put your dick into my ass and we can still do that, but—" 

"No way. I'll have to be very punctual in the morning. We aren't going two rounds, not today." 

Yuri's lip chewing intensified as he mulled over the options. "What are my chances of getting dicked down tomorrow?" 

"Good. Medina said she wanted to spend the evening talking to our parents and a friend." 

"Nice. Then I want to be the big spoon tonight." 

Otabek grinned fondly. He still enjoyed topping more than bottoming, but after the disaster that was their first time having penetrative sex, they had researched, worked their way around it, and found out what they both liked. And maybe, maybe it was also caused by the fact that Yuri's sex drive was higher than his body could reasonably handle, and even though blowjobs  _ helped _ , they weren't what he was craving. At least not all of it. 

"Fine then. But have mercy on me. I need to present the new product line tomorrow and I can't afford to waddle." 

Yuri grinned and slipped off the bed to retrieve his harness. It took him a moment to take out the packer, just because he loved it so damn much. But once the underwear was gone, he was climbing into it, pulling it up with a practiced wiggle. 

He liked to wear it even when he was bottoming. During those times, Yuri put in a realistic looking silicone toy. Right now, though, he wanted something harder, smaller. "How about that little vibe you got me for Easter?" It was Yuri's pride and joy. A sleek toy in a brushed steel design that looked like a bullet. He stared at it for a moment. "Nah. Too small." 

"Юрийым." 

"What?" 

"Small is good." 

"But it's so small, I'm not sure the harness can hold it. I don't really feel like taking you to the ER because I lost a bullet vibe inside your ass." 

Otabek threw his arm over his eyes. "Why?!" 

"Do you want me to try?" 

"NO." 

"See? Okay. How about this?" He held up a small, black vibe. A bit longer and wider. 

"Are you sure the harness can hold that?"

"It could last time." That was good enough for Otabek. He nodded, causing Yuri to smile wide. "Well then, here we go." The harness was strapped in place, toy secured. Yuri stroked it a few times, smirking to himself and then at Otabek. "Ready for me, sexy?" 

Otabek nodded and turned around, then opened his legs, but Yuri didn't move. He did, however, take the opportunity to give him a spanking. 

"Turn back. I want to see your pretty face." 

He groaned, but obliged. Yuri was a demanding and mouthy bottom, but when he topped, it was on another level. Otabek wasn't usually the shy type, but Yuri bossing him around did things to him. Now he stared at his husband, who was kneeling over him. 

"Raise your hips. And give me your pillow." 

"My head is on my pillow." 

"Your ass will need it more." 

"Why can't we take yours?" 

"Please, Bekam. Don't ridicule yourself. My pillow isn't the ass pillow." 

"But … I like my pillow, too." 

Yuri raised an eyebrow and Otabek handed it over, then grabbed Yuri's for his head instead. Small victories. 

They were practiced in their movements now, it was all common knowledge. Raising Otabek's hips, spreading his legs, lubing him up. Front and back because Yuri always made sure he enjoyed himself to a maximum. 

They watched each other constantly, but only from the corner of their eyes. Direct eye contact felt too powerful. 

Otabek wished they had put on music, but that would probably have woken Medina up, too. Instead, he got to listen to the soundtrack of lube being squeezed out the bottle, applied, and worked onto skin. It was vulgar in the way it squelched. But Yuri was grinning whenever he pushed more of it into Otabek, so it was hard to focus on the noise. The feeling was overwhelming. His husband was overwhelming. Everything else was just static. 

Until Potya began to cry. 

Yuri groaned quietly, but apparently he wasn't bothered enough to stop. Instead, he picked up the pace and added a second finger, determined to drown out the bothering sounds. 

Otabek was being spread apart, stretched and caressed, when he was jerked rather violently out of his pleasure. There was the sound of small feet on the floor, slowly making their way across the hallway.  _ Oh shit. _ Medina would try to open their door. Had Yuri locked it? She would either run into a barricade, or walk into her big brother with two fingers in his ass. In both cases, the situation would be clear. 

Yuri froze between his legs, terror in his eyes. "Please say you locked that door. Please." Well, there was his answer. He hastily reached for the blanket, but couldn't yank it out in time to—listen to Medina walk away? 

Otabek stopped all movement and listened attentively. Medina was talking to Potya, soft Kazakh words.  _ "If they don't want you tonight, you can sleep in my room."  _ The scratching was gone and so where his two favorite girls. Otabek was forced back into the moment by Yuri punching his upper arm. 

"WHAT DID SHE SAY?" Yuri was the master of shout-whispering. 

"She just …" Otabek rubbed his arm and frowned. Yuri had without a doubt gained a lot of muscle mass. "She said Potya can sleep in her room if we don't want her." 

His answer was a quiet whistle. "Good for us, then." Yuri was back between his legs, pushing his fingers quickly back and forth. He followed one of his greater passions and took Otabek into his mouth, but then hissed. The lube they used for anal play wasn't edible and tasted terrible. "Uuurgh. I hate this." He reappeared to glare at Otabek as if this was his fault. "Relax. You're all tense. I can't work if you clamp down on me like a dog in heat." 

"Gross." 

"What, clamping, dogs, or heat?" 

"Stop talking!" Otabek's face was burning hot. "My sister almost walked in on us fucking. How am I supposed to be relaxed?" 

Yuri sighed, but still grinned. He pulled back, walked to the door and locked it. "Better?" 

"Yeah." 

"Good." 

He was back between Otabek's thighs soon after. It was far easier to relax now. Once he got back into the mindset, Otabek barely noticed Yuri slipping in a third, thin finger. He only resurfaced enough to complain when they were taken back out. 

Yuri shushed him with kisses, then lubed himself up. "Vibrations or no vibrations?" 

"Can we try without? I still have to work tomorrow." 

"But you always cum much faster." 

Otabek swatted at Yuri, who laughed, before lining himself up. "Stop being so shy, teddy. It's too cute. You're too powerful like that." And Otabek  _ wanted _ to throw back a clever answer, but Yuri pushed in with one slow, deep thrust, then stilled. He moaned from the sight alone and that made Otabek moan in return. "Good?" 

Nodding softly, Otabek hummed his confirmation. "Jus' … go slow …" 

"Always." All the teasing and pushing Yuri forced him through while getting Otabek ready was forgotten once they were joined. Yuri looked soft and tender, brushed a kiss over Otabek's cheek. "Is this okay?" His hips began to roll in a careful, continuous pace that reached  _ just  _ deep enough. Otabek gasped and raised his hips off the pillow. "There, there. Ssshh. I got you. I don't want you to get hurt." 

It was kind of ridiculous how proficient Yuri had gotten with all this. He moved self-reassured. It was light-years away from Otabek's first, messy blowjob that left him struggling to talk for almost two days. 

Yuri was folded over him and muttered all the right, loving, kind words. He nipped on his partner's ear, kissed his neck, touched his body. It didn't take long for Otabek to turn into a breathy, excited mess. 

"You're leaking all over your tummy for me." Yuri was smug, pointing out the obvious. 

"Yeah …" 

"Do you like it when I fuck you?" Otabek confirmed with a nod, eyes hazy, but interested. The choice of topic was surprisingly bold for Yuri. "I love you so much, baby." And there he was, Otabek's mushy little angel. He smiled and Yuri smiled back. A kiss followed, slow and steady. It wasn't always like that, they didn't make love every time. Sometimes, they fucked. But with Medina in the apartment and Yuri getting his will with the kittens … 

The kittens. Otabek frowned. Wait, what exactly had he agreed to? Yuri stilled and looked down at him, obviously worried. "Does anything hurt?" 

"Did I really tell you it's okay to breed kittens?" 

Yuri grinned, pressing his lips together. "Yes. You can't take it back!" His next thrust was a little harder to drive home his point. Otabek sighed. Shit. Well. It looked like they would have kittens soon. He nodded, and Yuri lit up brighter than the sun. "I love you, Bekam." 

"I love you, too. Now, remind me why I allowed those terrible choices?" 

Yuri’s grin broadened. He went on and did remind Otabek. Twice. Just to make sure he wouldn't forget the next day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn't our Yuri a supremely convincing boy? ♥  
> How do you feel about kittens? Do you think it is a good idea or a disaster waiting to happen? 
> 
> This chapter is kind of for Surka, who wished for some Potya content. You'll get more than you probably bargained for, just like Otabek xD
>
>> I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading!  
> I'm also on  
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap chapter 3: Yuri convinced Otabek to let him have kittens.

"This. This is your fault, isn't it?" Otabek pointed into the direction of his husband, snuggled up in a blanket even though it was summer. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Medina beamed at him. She didn't try to hide her open browser tab about ragdoll kittens. 

Otabek shook his head and stared at Potya. "They want to get you pregnant. Did they tell you? Did they ask for your consent?" 

"SHUSH." Yuri shook his head and dropped his hand off the sofa. Potya hurried over and nuzzled into it. "Don't tell her. You'll stress her out and that's very bad for a future mommy." 

He sighed. "Baby, are you sure you aren't compensating—" 

Yuri looked at him with a gaze so cold, the Arctic ocean would feel like a tropical beach paradise. "If that sentence ends with anything other than _'for being an only child',_ I'm going to turn you into a single man again, Altin." 

Otabek, who's neck hair rose enough to prickle, nodded once, eyes wide. "Yeah. That's … What I meant." 

"Good." Yuri snapped his laptop shut and grabbed Potya, before he walked off with her. 

Otabek continued to stare after and sighed. "God, give me patience." 

"Beka?" He snapped his head back to Medina. Right, she was still here, too. "I thought you don't believe in Allah?" 

Damn. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Otabek had to promise their parents he wouldn't interfere with Medina's religious beliefs or she wouldn't be allowed to visit. So he made sure she had time and space to pray, would say Allah's name before eating, and everything in the apartment was halal. Yuri was disappointed about his favorite gummy bears being given to Mila, but in the end, he cooperated. Otabek bought him chocolate in exchange and the world was good. 

So instead, he simply nodded at Medina. "Yuri and I don't have any God we feel connected to." Nonetheless, he was a little conflicted. Otabek used to have a God, but they didn't always see eye to eye back then, and at some point, he lost the connection entirely. Sometimes, when he saw Medina pray, he missed the sheltered feeling, but then he was reminded why he lost his faith. It wasn't even Allah himself he was disappointed in, most of the time. It was the way his self-proclaimed imams behaved. And if Allah was as mighty as they said, shouldn't he change that? And stop making kids sick, stop people from being born in the wrong body, level the divide between the rich and the poor, while he was at it? It was a tough topic he often chose not to think about. 

Medina put her phone to the side and scooted over to rest her head against him. "Did you ever forget to pray? As a teenager, I mean?" 

"All the time." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "When you're young, there's so much going on. And you start to learn so much. You doubt things. Not just Allah. Not even just yourself. Everyone. Everything. And sometimes, you feel like you know better than them." 

"I don't actually know better?" She smiled softly, causing Otabek to grin back. 

"Sometimes you do. In the flexible, understanding minds of young people, liberal ideas are easier to understand. But that doesn't mean older people are always wrong. Sometimes they actually know better." 

"You sound like a grandfather. You're not even thirty." 

"No, but I'm married." 

"You don't even have a house." She stuck out her tongue to let him know it was a joke. 

"I have an apartment in another country. And a cat that hates me!" 

"Potya doesn't hate you." Yuri returned, his princess perched on his arms. "She doesn't like anyone. You just notice because you're around her more often." 

"What a relief." Otabek opened his arms, hoping Yuri forgot about his words. And indeed, he was rewarded with a lap full of man and cat. 

"See?" Yuri held the ragdoll up, who immediately swiped at Otabek's face. Hissing, Yuri set her back down. "Maybe there was a fly on your face?" He actually looked sorry. 

Otabek sighed and watched Potya jump back up immediately to curl up on Yuri's lap. She purred, then went to sleep. "Huh. Yeah. No. You're right. She loves me a lot." 

Medina giggled softly. "Sorry. But … this is so cute." Was it? Was it cute that Potya avoided him, or at most, begrudgingly accepted him? He wasn't convinced. 

"So." He smiled at Yuri. "What are the first steps?" 

Yuri scratched Potya's ear and drew his eyebrows together in concentration. "We have to prepare this." 

"Okay but … can't we just introduce her to a guy-cat?" Yuri looked mortified, so the answer was apparently _'no'_. 

"I made a Pinterest board." 

"That's so gay." 

"Don't shame me!" Yuri rolled his eyes. "Better than not being informed at all, you jerk." Otabek shrugged. He had to accept that. "Okay, soooooo. Step one, I guess: discussion and research. The first thing we have to do is to research the breed of the queen and any potential risks with birth, pregnancy and health defects." 

"Does it really say _'queen'_?" 

"That's what you call them." Medina sighed as if Otabek should have known on his own, and Yuri pointed at her and raised his eyebrows. 

"Do the guy cats have a ridiculous name, too?"

"They are called tomcats." 

"Not kings?" 

Yuri groaned, obviously annoyed already. "No. Apparently not. I didn't name them, Beka. Fuck's sake. Can we focus?" 

Otabek chuckled. "I guess?" 

Raising his phone again, Yuri continued on with his list. "You basically have to become an expert for the breed. Then, research the cost and details of caring for a pregnant cat." 

Medina raised her head from her brother's shoulder. "How much could that be?" 

"A fuckton." Yuri exhaled languidly, but then continued to speak before Otabek could scold him for his cursing. "We have initial vet appointments, ultrasounds, blood tests ... Then, special food requirements and medication to give her. There's a limit on how long you can worm or flee them, for example." 

"That sounds expensive?" She looked between Yuri and Otabek as if trying to confirm that _yes_ , it was indeed a lot they had to pay. Otabek gave her an impassionate nod. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" 

"You said I can!" 

"I know. I'm just asking if you're sure you want to do this." 

Yuri glared as if Otabek was somehow testing him, then jerked his head. "Potya deserves little Potyas." 

Otabek was tempted to ask again if this was actually about the cat, but he kept his thoughts to himself this time. "I support you and this, but only if you promise that you don't expect me to actually take care of this on my own. Like, you research and prepare everything? Good. I'm on board. But if this becomes _my_ project …" 

"No. No, it won't!" 

Medina looked between them. "And the cost?" 

That was their smallest problem. "We got that covered, don't worry." Otabek tousled her hair with a soft smile and Yuri seemed to agree with his husband, as he nodded along silently. "Okay. What then? After we decided that yes, we want to stress ourselves out for months?" 

"The next step is to ensure the queen is healthy. Getting blood tests done, specifically. Apparently we will need a vet to confirm that she can have kittens." 

"Why would she not be able to have kittens? Unless she's spayed?" Medina leaned forward and grabbed a glass of water from the table, causing Potya to reevaluate her seating arrangement. She walked over and began to dip her paw into it, just to lick the droplets off. Otabek was disgusted, but Medina seemed to be fine with it. 

Yuri watched for a while, entirely fascinated. Otabek couldn't tell if that was because of Potya's behavior or because Medina let her do her thing. Eventually, he snapped out of it. "Some cats are unable to carry kittens to term because of their bone structure, or they can't give birth because their hips are too narrow." 

"Oh." Otabek looked at his husband, somehow surprised by this information. "So we don't know for sure yet if Potya will be able to have babies?" 

Yuri pursed his lips, obviously not excited, and pet the cat's head. "Yeah." He didn't add anything, instead just tried to refocus on his list. "The next step will be to carry out genetic tests. So we can see if she is a carrier of a recessive gene that could cause issues for the kittens." 

"That sounds so complicated." Medina put her own finger into the glass and drizzled some droplets on Potya's head, who pawed at them to lick them clean. 

"It is." Yuri groaned and dropped his head back against the sofa, then turned it to stare at Otabek. "If you say it's too much, I understand that. I don't want to overwhelm you. I just … I wish she could …" He sighed and closed his eyes. 

"I know." Reaching over, Otabek gently cradled Yuri's face. "I know." He gave Yuri a careful kiss, but Medina timidly cleared her throat next to them, so nothing else followed. 

"So … where do we get a _'tomcat'_ from?" 

"Depends. Do you want pedigree kittens with proper papers? Or do you not care about that?" Yuri was chewing his lip, obviously expecting one specific answer, but Otabek didn't know which one it was. 

"I … don't really care? As long as they are happy and healthy?" That was always the right thing to say, right? The way Yuri's head bobbed up and down enthusiastically confirmed Otabek's suspicion. 

"Yeah. Okay. Good. No pedigree. That would have meant _so much_ more work." 

"Yeah. No. No pedigree." 

Yuri smiled and rested his hand on Otabek's thigh. "Besides …" He made himself smaller and half-rolled onto Otabek's lap, causing Medina and Potya to relocate. "... That only matters when you want to sell your kittens. Right?" Wait. What was that supposed to mean? Yuri's arms snaked around his neck and pulled Otabek into a kiss, his husband smiling softly. "Right, zhanym?" 

"Uh. I guess?" He realised he was getting played. Otabek just didn't understand yet _how_. 

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE KEEPING THE KITTENS?" Medina screeched so enthusiastically, Potya jumped up and fled the room. 

Oh. Oooooooh. Clever Yuri. Dumb Otabek. 

Turning his head, he looked into the beaming face of his beloved husband. "You planned this." 

"Planned what?" 

"To keep the kittens." 

"Yes, of course." Yuri didn't even indicate any kind of remorse. "Can you picture it? Mommy cat and daddy cat and a bunch of baby—" 

"A BUNCH?" 

"Don't worry, teddy. First litters are small." Another pearl white smile and Otabek felt like Yuri's was pushing a kryptonite rock into his heart. 

"You want to keep _all of the kittens_ AND the parents?" 

"Only if you leeeeet meeeee," Yuri sang, still smiling upward. "But it would make me _soooo happy._ " 

Otabek groaned. "This isn't fair. You know exactly how to push my buttons." 

Yuri nodded, giving him his most saccharine smile. When Otabek still didn't confirm, he turned to the teenager. "Medina, love, didn't you want to call your parents?" 

"Yeah, but only in an hour or so, because—" 

Yuri kept smiling, but tilted his head slowly, eyes wide open. "Didn't. You. Want. To. Call. Your. Parents?" 

For a moment she stared. Then, Medina snorted and picked up Potya. "Come on, where they go, they don't want us." She was gone before Otabek could ask what she meant. 

It didn't matter, though, because two minutes later, Yuri helped him understand. Not by explaining it better. That would be hard to do from his current position. But, well. It still ended with Yuri getting to keep the kittens. 

\---------- 

"You're a demon." Otabek sat in the waiting room of a nearby shelter, glaring at his husband. 

Yuri nodded, not even looking up from the booklet he studied. "You love me." 

"That was never up for debate." 

This time, Yuri raised his head to give him a pleased grin. "I love you, too." 

"Because I let you manipulate me into getting your will?" 

Yuri's smile fell and he was next to Otabek in the blink of an eye. "Is this really how you feel?" His voice was so soft, so full of honest concern. He took Otabek's hand and looked around as if he was seeing the room for the first time. "Do you want to leave?" 

"No. I want you to be happy, but—" 

"AND HERE WE HAVE JERRY!" The overexcited volunteer carried a red cat into the room, but Yuri never stopped looking at Otabek. Not even when the guy stopped in front of them, holding the cat as if he wanted to present his kitten on pride rock. 

"I'm sorry." Yuri didn't look at him, still kept his gaze glued to Otabek. His eyes were filled with sincerity. "We can't take him. We can't take any of them. Apparently there was a disagreement that I wasn't aware of until now." 

The volunteer looked like he wanted to drop the animal. "But—" 

"I'm sorry. It's a no. I need to talk to my husband." He grabbed Otabek's hand. "Come on. We gotta go." 

But Otabek didn't budge. "No. No, baby. You want this, so we are doing it." 

Yuri looked away and shook his head. "Not if you feel like I _manipulated_ you. I wanted it to be playful, but not _like that_." Otabek couldn't be sure but it sounded almost as if Yuri was about to cry. 

He looked at the employee and the man ran off, cat in his arms. "сүйіктім." 

A tiny smile on Yuri's lips. He wasn't immune to that word, never had been. "Yeah?" Yuri loved being called Otabek's favorite, his love. 

"I didn't mean it. Okay? Let's pick up a nice kitty for us, and give it a loving home, and then have more nice kitty babies." Yuri leaned into the hand on his cheek and smiled softly. 

"Uuuuhm. Sir?" The guy with the cat stood a few steps away from them, looking sheepish. 

"Yeah?" 

"Our … cats are neutered. All of them. You can't … uhm … have them make kittens?" 

"Oh." Otabek blinked. That information was certainly helpful. He turned to Yuri, who looked devastated. "Well, we will find a lover for Potya. Okay?" 

Yuri nodded mutedly and wrapped himself around Otabek's arm. The latter said his goodbye to the poor employee, then walked back out. 

"Let's go home and rethink this." 

Next to him, Yuri nodded. "I guess." 

"Where do you think we can find a proper tomcat for our girl?" 

Yuri looked up at him, curious. "Why? You don't want to breed her, anyway." 

"But you do." Otabek kissed his nose. "That's enough reason for me." 

This time, Yuri didn't try to hide his reaction. He beamed and leaned up to give Otabek a kiss. Then, he looked over the extensive yard of the shelter and at the groups of kids pressed to the fence, restlessly trying to spot a dog. "Now … all we have to do is find Medina …"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They get their research done, visit a shelter and Yuri still is cruel but convincing when it comes to his wishes.  
> Are you pitying or envying Otabek?  
> And what about the mess they invite into their home? Are you dreading it or looking forward to it?
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and also, to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on[Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap chapter 4: They research, what to do when you want kittens, and go to a shelter together. As it turns out, all the cats are neutered, so they have to come up with another plan. Yuri also has his own method to convince Otabek not to give the kittens away.

"So you … are serious about that?" Mila raised her legs up onto the coffee table and leaned back. 

"Mila." 

"What?! They need to dry!" She pointed at her toenails and Otabek relented. He knew he was fighting a lost battle. 

He rolled his eyes and turned around instead, going to the kitchen to get them a big bowl of punch. It was too fucking warm outside. On his way, he almost bumped into Minami, who apologised extensively, before Phichit shoved him out of the way with a hip-check. The poor nugget almost crashed into the wall, but that didn't stop the other. 

"ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE CAT? IS IT HAPPENING?!" He was yelling, startling Potya out of Yuri's lap. Chris caught him around the waist before he could do more damage in his haste and pulled Phichit onto his lap instead. They immediately began to paint each other's nails. It was like watching excited mercats. 

He heard Yuri confirm, then helped Minami back up, who had fallen over when Phichit stormed away. "Are you okay?" 

"Oh? Oh yeah! Yes, I'm good! Thank you!" He blushed furiously.

Trying not to chuckle, Otabek pressed the bowl into his arms. "Take that to the table, please?" 

Once he had a task, Minami looked much more comfortable. He happily did as he was told and hurried off. Otabek's eyes stayed on him for a moment, but then the commotion in the living room forced him to turn around and head back anyway. 

"SO—" Phichit sighed and dropped back against the sofa with enough force to startle Guang Hong into spilling some of his drink. "You're getting another cat?" 

Yuri shrugged softly. "I don't know yet. We don't know. It's … uuurgh. It's a lot. I mean, I obviously wouldn't mind a second cat, but …" He looked up, and at Otabek. 

"You are the problem, then?" Leo laughed and helped Guang Hong reach for tissues to clean the little mishap. 

"He's not!" Yuri was very serious from one moment to the other and glared at Leo as if he had insulted him personally. "He's not, okay? Beka is very tolerant." 

Mila raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Yeah, we all know your  _ 'teddy' _ is the best person in the entire world." 

It was a rare sight, but Yuri blushed, even though he obviously tried to keep his composure. "Yeah. Fuck yeah! So what? I actually like my husband, big fucking crime!" The group around the sofa table laughed and exchanged meaningful glances, causing Yuri to flip them all off. He cursed when it caused one of his nails to smudge. 

"Let me." Otabek settled next to him and offered his hand, expecting Yuri to put his on top. Following obediently, Yuri first held his hand for a moment, then turned his palm, so Otabek could get to his nails. The room was silently watching them, Otabek realised, when he heard some bars of music for the first time in what felt like hours. Before, the chatter had drowned them out. The next thing he noticed was several cameras on him, but he stubbornly pretended it was just Yuri and him in the room. When everyone was still quiet after he finished the repairing, Otabek looked up. "What?" 

Sara was pressing her hand over her mouth, Mila wiped a fake tear away. Minami held his hand over his heart and Chris was  _ still filming,  _ accompanied by Phichit taking photos. The only ones busy with each other were Guang Hong and Leo. No one answered him. 

So Yuri tried again, a little more insistent. "WHAT?" 

It was Phichit who finally relented. He waved a hand at them, looking like a grandmother either soothing or agitating children. It wasn't entirely clear. "You're just so cute." 

Yuri rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide his red cheeks. 

Sara reached out and placed a hand on his leg. "Oh come on. This is a compliment, not a taunt. You two are the couple we all want to be." 

Even though Yuri rolled his eyes again, somehow even more dramatically, it was obvious he was interested. Who wasn't interested in compliments. It made Otabek smile. "What do you mean? Almost all of you are in happy relationships—sorry Minami." 

"'s okay." They nodded at each other. 

Mila raised her shoulders, then dropped them in an exaggerated shrug. "You guys are just so … cute." 

"Because he's painting my nails?" Somehow, Yuri looked annoyed and curious at the same time. "Chris and Phichit paint each other's nails all the time." 

"Yeah. Each other's. Exactly." Chris leaned forward and looked demonstratively between Otabek and Yuri, then their hands. Otabek's were bare. 

"So the entire deal is, I paint Yuri's nails? Even though I don't like nail polish?" 

Phichit nodded enthusiastically. "You learned to do something you neither like nor want for yourself, just so you could do it for Yuri!" 

Otabek grinned. "That's not true. I learned that for my sisters. But I'm glad it's a useful skill, I guess." Somehow, Phichit looked a little disappointed, but Mila perked up. 

"Since you mentioned it! Where is your sister?" Half of the group began to look around the living room, as if Medina would suddenly appear from thin air. 

"She wanted to check out the mosque three blocks down the road. It's a small place, but it probably helps her feel connected right now. When you're used to being around other believers, feeling spiritual is easier in groups." Otabek couldn't help but smile at the memories of eating and singing together with their friends. "It's considered better to pray in a group." 

"And did you?" Leo looked at him with newfound interest. 

"What?" 

"Pray with her? You seem to know the mosque, and she's your sister, after all?" 

"He's not religious, dummy!" Mila threw a pillow at him, accidentally hitting Guang Hong and causing another spill. "SHIT, sorry!" 

Otabek shook his head, watching the commotion as if it wasn't his sofa being soaked in lemonade. "No, I didn't. Mila is right. But I sat with her while she prayed. She liked that a lot. And it's a good feeling to be around her and around that facet of our family without feeling the pressure of expectance." 

"Do you think you would still be religious if you weren't queer?" 

He blinked at Minami, surprised by the question. "I don't know. I think so. Maybe. Maybe not. I want to believe I would have been an ally enough to understand that what modern imams preach isn't always focused on peace. I want to believe that the state of the world would have shaken me enough to doubt. But I can't be sure." 

The nugget nodded, then smiled softly. "Thank you for sharing that part of you." 

"Thank you for having it." 

Interrupted by the noise of a key being inserted into the lock, everyone quieted and looked at the door. Medina opened it and walked in, then smiled when she saw everyone around. During their half-year apart, she caught glimpses of their circle of friends, but she never encountered all of them at the same time, and never even one of them in person. Until now. 

"Medina!" Mila screeched like a witch and jumped up so excitedly, she almost spilled her own drink. "You're here!" They hugged as if they had known each other for years. 

Yuri smirked and leaned over to whisper, "They exchanged numbers a while ago." 

"You never told me!" 

"I thought you might be spooked by your little sister continuously chatting with a crazy, uninhibited bi woman." 

"You're crazy and uninhibited, and I'm 'officially' bi." 

Yuri blinked owlishly at him, then snickered. "Mila is our emotional love child." 

"Oh god, most definitely not!" Otabek bristled, causing Yuri to laugh and kiss him. When they looked up, the commotion had quieted down, and everyone was staring at them again as if they held the secrets of the universe. "Oh, come on guys. We are just talking!" 

"Cute." Chris grinned contendly and tugged Phichit further onto his lap, before whispering something into his ear that was obviously both only for him, and very, very naughty, if you wanted to believe his giggle and the following kiss. 

Medina watched all of them with hungry, big eyes. Queer people interacting freely with each other was a completely new sight to her. Open displays of affection between people of the same gender was simply not what happened in Kazakhstan. 

She settled on the floor, next to Minami, who blushed yet again. Most people would earn a reprimand about that, but Otabek knew Minami was very nervous about meeting new people in general. He blushed easily, always excited at one thing or another. The way he looked at Medina made it obvious he was more afraid of her then vice versa. "What have you been talking about?" 

"Oh, this, that, you know? How cute your brother is." 

Phichit elbowed Chris and rolled his eyes. "Yuri wanted to tell us about the new cat, RIGHT?" 

Damn. They were back at the cat topic. Otabek had been grateful to have it not be front and center for a while, but here they were again. And Yuri … Yuri was obviously excited about it, but at the same time, he obviously tried very hard to hold back. 

"Come on. Tell them." Otabek smiled and kissed his head, not without being cooed at by everyone. 

"Okay, so. Basically, we want a new cat so Potya can have kittens. But the problem is, all the shelter cats are neutered. And also, Beka said I might be allowed to keep the kittens, if there aren't  _ too many _ , but usually, the first batch is small. So I have hope. On the other hand, it would mean soon having like … four or five cats running around in here, and even though I love cats and wouldn't mind, I'm not so sure about Beka." 

Guang Hong sighed and smiled. Seriously, what the fuck was it with all of them today? 

"So you need a tomcat to get your girl pregnant, but it's a hassle because adoption leaves you with a lot of difficulties and uncertainties?" Chris poured himself another drink and Otabek didn't miss Medina's unhappy face. 

"What is it?" 

"Huh?" 

He apologized for interrupting the conversation, then looked at Medina again. "What's bothering you, айналайын?" 

She shrugged, avoiding eye contact. Medina was obviously uncomfortable, but Otabek knew it couldn't be the cats. Yuri and her barely spoke about anything else during the last two weeks. So … "Is it the drink?" 

Medina nodded, still not looking into Otabek's eyes. He got up and brought over a glass for her, before pouring her some. "It's just frozen forest fruit, ice, and lemonade. No alcohol." 

She blinked and took the glass, inspecting the pink liquid. "Oh …" 

Otabek nodded encouragingly. "Try it. It's good. You know I would never mess with you." She sipped on it, then lit up considerably. "Good?" Medina smiled and nodded, drinking more of it. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. You were at the cats and the struggle of buying a male." 

The group looked at him, most of them as if he was somehow made of gold and fragile at the same time. Yuri looked away. Otabek didn't understand. 

It was Chris who cleared his throat. "And the internet isn't an option?" 

"No. We need the cats to be tested together. Most people don't feel like taking their cat to you and then running tests on them, at least not without considerable amounts of money." 

Mila smirked. "You guys are loaded." 

"That's not the point. And no, we aren't. Our fathers are. But animals shouldn't be something you sell for riches." 

Chris frowned and leaned back. "Take my boy?" 

"Huh?" 

"My cat? Take him. He's not neutered yet, and to my knowledge is completely healthy. He loves playing with other cats and I bet he'd make a good father. Also, you wouldn't need to adopt a new cat and you can have access to him whenever you like?" 

"Holy shit, are you sure?" 

Chris nodded and grinned. "But only if you let me visit the kittens whenever I want. And if there are enough, I might pry one out of your hands." 

Yuri snorted and nodded excitedly. That was better news than anything they had heard in a while, at least when it came to cat breeding. "Thank you. That would be amazing!" 

And that's when Otabek decided, no matter how much effort it would take, how frustrating it would end up being, or how lost he would be when it came to raising those little blobs … if it made Yuri light up like that, it was all worth it. 

\------------ 

The next week was a lot of action, wanted and unwanted. There was the time someone said awful things to Medina, things you shouldn't tell a grown woman, but especially not a teenager. Otabek might have come out of this situation with bruised knuckles, but he didn't have it in himself to feel remorse. Especially not when Yuri, after Medina was taken care of, dragged him to the bedroom. Who would have thought he had a thing for bad boys? 

Then, there was this time Yuri got a project assigned that he really, really didn't want to do for university because it included working with a girl he hated. Otabek and Medina spent the entire time she was over laughing from the safety of the kitchen, mostly because Yuri looked like a wet cat. He was so miserable. 

Medina and Otabek cooked a lot together. It wasn't like Yuri struggled with Kazakh food, he didn't, but nothing beat the feeling of cooking with family. They made manti, sorpa and, to Yuri's absolute delight, borscht.  _ 'It feels a little like home' _ , he said, and ate enough for three people. 

That was when Otabek started to wonder if Yuri missed his family more than he allowed himself to believe. Otabek dug out his phone and buried himself in his contact list long enough for Yuri to get suspicious and to steal his phone. He was a little wild and a little untameable, but not even Yuri would go through his partner's phone. So he held onto it for a moment, glaring, before he handed it back with a pretty pout. Yuri made sure, though, that Otabek would be too distracted to look at it, at least for a few hours. 

They also went to the vet to get Potya checked. Chris brought Sebastian, too, who—for a cat of someone like Chris—had a ridiculously serious name. Otabek expected something like Pumpkin, Minx or Kitty, but Chris sighed and only scratched the feline's chin. 

"Nah. He's good the way he is, isn't he?" 

Sebastian answered with a loud purr, clearly delighting Yuri. "Big boy! Big, strong boy! Pretty boy!" He pointed at the animal and kept offering his hand to introduce himself. So far, Sebastian seemed to like them. 

By the end of the week, Potya's blood tests came back clean. She was of excellent health, the doctor said, and was apparently quite happy. Otabek doubted the last part, after all, she scratched the doctor three times, but he didn't care as long as Yuri kept smiling like that. They were told Potya would be able to carry kittens, her bone structure fitting to allow natural birth. Yuri jumped high enough to startle the entire team, but Otabek simply wrapped him up in his arms and kissed him, until Yuri was able to focus again. 

Another week and they had the results of both Potya's and Sebastian's DNA tests. They were  _ 'good enough' _ Yuri claimed, and they sat down on the floor to read the results back to Potya. Otabek learned soon after that  _ 'good enough' _ meant they wouldn't get rich from trying to sell the little monsters, but apparently, that had never been the intention, anyway. By now, he had come to peace with the thought. 

The vet confirmed compatibility for their Ragdoll and Chris' British Longhair, and from there on, it was just a matter of time. Which meant, letting the cats get to know each other. 

Yuri was pacing the apartment, agitated and excited, but fearful all at once. "What if Potya hates him?" 

"I don't know?" Otabek sighed. They had been playing that game for hours now. Medina simply grinned at them and shook her head. 

"You sound like every married couple, ever." 

"We are a married couple." 

She shrugged at her brother, her eyes full of mirth. "Yeah, but like, most of the time, you're the cool kind of married. The version where you get to hang with your best friend all day and have constant sleepovers. That kind. It's rare to see you  _ actually _ sound like a middle-aged couple discussing which vegetables fit which broth." 

"No one discusses vegetable broth." Yuri frowned at them. 

"Mom and I do. Boooo!" Medina threw a pillow after him, and Yuri caught it and laughed. It caused her to blush. 

"Most people I know discuss which wine they want to drink for dinner." 

"Is everyone in this country alcoholic?" 

Yuri thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess? At least a lot of people. Being a wine mom is an entire cultural thing here. People think it's funny to talk about that shit like it's a personality quirk." 

"The queer scene has a problem with alcohol as well." Otabek sat down behind his husband and pulled Yuri against his chest. "A lot of people repress their feelings that way. Or it's part of the party culture. You go out to forget you feel like shit, you drink, you feel like shit, you go out to forget about it … but all of that even more intensified because you don't only feel like shit for drinking, you feel like shit for being born the way you are. It's the same in every country. Some have better rights for queer people, but not one has actually equity." 

"Holy shit, that got dark, Beka." Yuri stared over his shoulder. "Do you have anything to tell me?" 

"Not about myself, but I have enough friends to know what it's like. Apparently." He shrugged and leaned forward to rest his chin on Yuri's shoulder. 

"But you don't drink, right?" Medina guided the glass straw of her lemonade into her mouth. 

"I don't get drunk. But sometimes I drink." 

She sighed and put the glass down again, looking somehow fascinated and disappointed all at once. "Is it worth it?" 

Otabek frowned and thought about the question. "Getting drunk almost never is. But spending time with friends in an easy and relaxed atmosphere? Yeah." 

Medina didn't look too happy with that answer. But she couldn't say much more about it because the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Chris and Sebastian. 

Yuri bolted from the sofa, then turned to look at Potya. "Behave!" He hurried to the door and pulled it open with enthusiasm, just to be met with two unexpected sets of eyes staring at him. 

"You're not Chris." 

"No, I'm not." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO IS THE GUEST, MY DUDES?   
> I wana hear your ideas! ♥
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and also, to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuri tells the gang about his plans to breed cats. They sit together and talk about life and love until Medina comes home. Then they get back to the kittens and Chris offers his own cat, Sebastian, up to become the father. After all necessary health checks, the cats are supposed to meet for the first time, but once Yuri opens the door, he doesn't find who he expects.

Yuri stared dumbfoundedly at the door. He repeated himself, just to make sure he was actually understating what was going on. "You're not Chris." 

"Nah. But who is he? He must be cute if you're that enthusiastic to see him." 

Yuri blinked and stepped to the side to let their guests in, too stunned to protest their sudden visit. Viktor immediately bounded into the living room, looking around like a child seeing an aquarium for the first time. "It's beautiful in here! Yura! It's beautiful!" 

Otabek's lip ticked into a soft smile and he bowed his head in greeting, happy to see the other Russian. 

Once Viktor's noticed him, he half-threw himself across the room for a hug Otabek had no chance to escape. "Thank you for inviting my Yuri and me! I'm so glad it worked out!" 

"You … you invited him?!" Yuri was still stuck in the door, opposite Viktor's much politer, more timid husband. 

"Yeah. You … I felt like you missed your family, and with part of mine here, I thought—" 

"YOU THOUGHT YOU'D BRING THE DEMON INTO OUR HOUSE?" 

Wait, what? Yuri liked his cousin, didn't he? "Uhm, well …" 

Suddenly Yuri's hands flew to his head, then his chest, then his crotch. He stared at Otabek with big, panicky eyes. 

"Oh, Yurochka. Don't worry. I've seen your Instagram." Viktor's smile was uncharacteristically soft as he walked back to the door to grab his husband's hand and pull him in. "Is it a gender thing or a style thing?" 

Yuri bit his lip and glared at Otabek, before he squared his shoulders, ready for a fight. "It's a gender thing. Do you have a problem with that?" 

Viktor turned to him, looking surprised. "No? Why would I? Between us, you were a terrible woman. All porcelain doll and no character. You never fit into the body that tried to contain you. You were always bigger than your physical form. But now … this. This works for you. You look like  _ you.  _ I like it." 

Yuri's shoulders slumped. "You … Do?" 

"Yeah. It's very … it's you. It's still feminine in an empowering way, but it's very obvious you aren't a woman." 

Otabek smiled at him. "A genderless mess, but like—" 

"With a dick." Yuri finished the sentence and walked over to his husband to slump into his embrace. "Did you know they knew?" 

"No. But I suspected it. Viktor kept interacting with your social media." 

Yuri hid his face against his partner's chest. "Uuurgh. Yeah. But you know I never check the numbers. It's …" 

"Not good for your mental health. I know." Otabek kissed the top of Yuri's head. 

"Oh, and you are?" Viktor's voice snapped higher. He sounded obviously excited.

"Medina. Hello. I'm … Otabek's sister." 

"OH MY, YUUUURI! OTABEK'S SISTER!" Viktor pulled on his husband's sleeve, causing Medina to frown. 

"But …. He's Yuri." 

"No, no. He's Yura. This is Yuri!" Viktor looked to the side, beaming at his partner. 

"Now that's just confusing." 

"I'm sorry." Yuri looked down, trying to avoid all the attention. "I know it's a confusing situation but—" 

"Just call him  _ 'Katsuki' _ . That's what I do." Yuri shrugged and looked over at the couch. 

"But his name is  _ 'Katsuki-Nikiforov' _ now."

"Yes, old man, but it was  _ 'Katsuki' _ when he decided to steal my name, so here we are." 

The entire situation was obviously confusing the Altin siblings. Otabek frowned at his sister, but Medina shrugged back. "Don’t look at me like that. I don't know, what is going on, either. What are the chances of that happening?" 

"RIGHT?" Yuri decided to insert himself. "I kept telling Viktor it's disgusting to fuck someone with the name of your cousin, but he didn't want to listen." 

Otabek noticed the way the other man flinched. That was not good. Not at all. He invited their guests and it was his task to make sure they were comfortable, but Katsuki—as Yuri insisted on calling him—seemed to be anything but. "Юрийым. Maybe don't call him  _ disgusting _ for being in love. You wouldn't like that either." 

Yuri drew his brows together and sighed. "Yeah. Okay. Fine. Whatever. Viktor is still disgusting. But not because of Katsuki. Just because he's Viktor." 

Otabek nodded. Fair enough. He didn't know a lot about the two men, but he was aware their relationship was complicated once Viktor was forced to leave Russia after his coming out. Yuri had wished for him to stay, to not be alone with his  _ 'improper' _ thoughts and feelings, and for years he had been told Viktor chose to run away. That he dropped his family to find love in Japan. But now Yuri was aware of the truth. It didn't magically fix everything, but it helped. 

Viktor and Yuri kept chitchatting for a while, even though it was closer to teasing most of the time. The older cousin was excited to get to know Medina, too, so they quickly fell into a triangle conversation. 

Otabek used the time to settle next to Katsuki and smiled. "Hey. I'm glad you're here. How are you?" 

The other opened his mouth as if to answer, then put his forehead in wrinkles and looked as if he was origami folding his tongue. "Good. You?" 

It was hard to understand because the words were laced with a heavy accent, and that was when Otabek realised they had been talking in Russian the entire time. Between the Kazakhs and Russians, no one noticed. It was the mother tongue of both countries, after all, but Katsuki had no chance to follow their rapid fire exchange in a language so severely different from his own. 

Otabek switched to English immediately. "Oh, holy shit. I'm so sorry! I didn't think!" Katsuki lit up as if someone poured gasoline over a smoldering campfire. His entire face erupted into a joyful, kind and grateful smile. It was fascinating to see the man transform right in front of him. 

"It's okay! It keeps happening to Viktor with my family, too!" 

Oh. Well, that was surprising. Yuri's English was damn near perfect. The accent was there, but it was barely noticeable. Otabek nodded enthusiastically. "Still, that's not really an excuse. We should have thought of that!" 

Katsuki shrugged, relaxing visibly now. "People think I speak Russian because I'm married to one, but … Viktor and I communicate in English. He's learning Japanese, though. The citizenship rules are harsh in Japan, so it makes sense to try and appease the authorities as best as you can." 

Otabek nodded as if he knew anything about Japanese citizenship, and Katsuki laughed, but it was a warm, pleasant sound, not the mocking noise he got used to as a young adult in a country he barely understood. Once he realised Otabek was actually interested, Katsuki began to explain the situation more in-depth. He spoke about name changes, language learning and traditions. It was fascinating. So fascinating, he noticed the doorbell only when Yuri had already gotten up. 

"Who's Chris?" Viktor smirked at him, a knowing glint in his eyes. Otabek wasn't sure what he thought he knew, but it was definitely not the truth because Viktor looked almost disappointed when Otabek replied with  _ 'a friend of ours.' _

A moment later and Chris was in the middle of the room. Then, multiple things happened at once. 

Yuri accidentally let go of the door too early, and it fell shut, resulting in a loud  _ bang _ . Viktor lunged forward to stare into the pet carrier, and Chris startled so much, he dropped Sebastian. Only because Viktor was already jumping forward did he manage to catch the carrier. But the vibration of it landing roughly in the Russian's hands caused the lock to spring open. 

Everyone stood still, even time itself, as the door swung open. Then, it seemed to catch up to what just happened, and Sebastian bolted from his temporary home. 

He jumped onto Viktor's face, clawed his way on top of his head, sprang onto the couch in a panic, slid down and tore up the material. Once he regained his footing, he dragged himself back up, jumped on the backrest and used the high point as a platform to catapult himself deeper into the apartment. 

Otabek blinked once, and the cat was gone. 

Everyone stared, first at the carrier, then at the bleeding Viktor, then at the torn sofa, and  _ then _ at the spot the cat vanished from. 

"Well. Uhm." Yuri looked around from his place by the front door. "Sorry, I guess? And uh. Welcome to the party?" 

Silence for a moment, then Viktor wailed and Chris laughed. 

\----------- 

"I swear I can't find him." Medina sighed and looked down at Yuri, who was currently taking care of Viktor's numerous tiny cuts. He was a man baby about it, without a doubt hoping for sympathy from his husband. Which he got. A lot of it. 

"Well, the good thing is, the entire apartment is already cat proofed." 

That's not how Otabek would have put it, but well, it was nice to focus on the good things, he supposed. "Has anyone seen Potya?" 

Yuri froze in his movement, then cursed so loud and long it caused Medina to bristle. "Fuck, no. You're supposed to keep an eye on them during the first meeting! What if they are fighting?!" 

Chris was still grinning. "I think we would hear that." Yuri answered him with a huff, but calmed down after that. 

"There are no windows open, right?" Medina suddenly looked anxious, but Otabek could help relax her. 

"Not to my knowledge, and even if they were, we have cat proof screens." 

She calmed a little, too. Yuri looked between the group, all in varying states of amusement and worry. "But they can't have disappeared, can they?" 

So they all swarmed out for another round of searching. No cat in the bedroom, no cat in the kitchen, no cat in the guest bedroom or the living room or the hallway or anywhere else. In the end, they reassured no animal could leave the apartment in any way and returned to the living room. Yuri settled half on top of Otabek, looking for his warmth and comfort, even though the summer heat was molding them together.

"How come you didn't bring Phichit along?" 

Chris shrugged and settled on the floor next to Medina. "He's with his boyfriend today." 

"But …" She looked confused, her nose scrunched up. "He's your boyfriend." 

With a small smile, Chris shook his head. "No. Not really. But we are pretty close, so I understand why it might look like that to you." 

"You kissed him, though." 

"Does kissing make someone your boyfriend?" 

She frowned, then nodded. "It should." 

Yuri stood, the sensation of his skin peeling off of Otabek's leaving the latter with a weird feeling. His lip twitched in disgust as he wiped the sweat away. He stood and went to get them some snacks. "Beka and I didn't kiss until … we got married? Or engaged? I don't know anymore." 

"But that's kind of my point?" Medina tried to sit straight, looking the adults in the eye. "Why would I kiss someone if I don't want to marry them?" 

"Oh, honey. There's a  _ lot _ of reasons—" Chris was interrupted by a pointed glare from Otabek, but Medina shook her head. 

"No! I want to know! Why would you?" It didn't fit her world view and what they were taught, so Otabek understood her curiosity. But at the same time, he wasn't sure she should know. Opinions like that could be dangerous in conservative places, especially for young women.

But Chris couldn't be stopped anyway, now that he knew she was curious. "Well, first and foremost, it feels good. It's comforting. Or sexy. Or nice. It can be soothing or exciting. It can make you feel at home or long for all kinds of different places." 

Yuri smirked and took the opportunity to kiss Otabek. "How poetic." 

Viktor, who had been whining until now, began to smile wide. "So you two actually do like each other! Right? This wasn't just a show to get out of Russia? You're really in love?" 

For a moment, Yuri seemed to hesitate telling the truth, but then he pushed through. "It  _ was  _ a show. At the start. But we fell in love, over time. It was the best decision of my life." 

Chris nodded and smirked. "These two are adorable. Oh, and it was Yuri who made the first step. And the second. And third. He was halfway across America until Otabek realised he's been walking at all." 

"I thought he was just friendly!" 

"Friends don't cut the cords of their friend's TV to have an excuse to sleep in their bed." 

"I know that now, thank you very much." 

Viktor gawked. "He did WHAT?" 

But Yuri only shrugged. "He's thick in more than one way. It was necessary. Don't think he caught on to  _ that _ right away." 

There was a quiet whistle from Chris and for a moment, Otabek was confused. But then his friend gave him  _ the wink  _ and suddenly, the part Chris referred to was much more clear. Otabek crossed his legs, very aware of the heat coloring his cheeks. 

The innuendo seemed to go over everyone else's head, which he was grateful for. Viktor was still asking Yuri all kinds of questions, more and more agitated, but at least less whiny. His own Yuri was quietly tending to the scratches. Otabek had to admit, he admired the man's calmness and dedication. Katsuki seemed at peace with himself. 

"So. Yuri basically had to force herself onto you?" 

"Himself." 

Viktor whipped his head to his cousin, gave him a once-over and babbled a bunch of small, staccato like apologies. "Himself! Of course! I'm sorry!" 

Yuri, by now back on Otabek's lap, shrugged. "I know there's … a transition phase. It'll probably happen again. That's okay. It's not from a place of malice and I know you don't mean it in an enforcing way. Just … try, okay?" 

Nodding so quickly his head threatened to fall off, Viktor returned his attention to Otabek. The latter shook his head. "He didn't force himself onto me. I was just … scared. All these men who tried to court him. In barbaric ways. I hated hearing about that, so of course I didn't want to be like that." 

"You didn't fucking clock it, that's what happened." Chris laughed and lay down on the floor, stretching his long limbs out. He earned a glare from Otabek and laughter from Medina. 

"Okay, well, my husband is obviously a disaster, and so am I." Yuri gave him a fond grin that still made Otabek's stomach do somersaults. Even after all those months. "But that doesn't mean y'all are better. It just means you hide your problems!" He looked very proud of himself for that observation. Yuri probably meant it as a joke, but Chris sighed softly. 

"Maybe." 

"Oh no. Trouble in paradise?" It was weird to hear that genuine concern all of a sudden. Yuri's wasn't good with emotions, especially not when others were sad, but he had done a lot of emotional work over the last months to learn to deal with them and to open up at least a little. 

"Meh. Not really. I guess poly relationships are like standardized relationships, but with more people who can carry problems into it?" 

"Well,  _ is  _ it a poly relationship? I thought Phichit was dating that dude, and you and Phichit were more of a—" Yuri looked at Medina and bit his lip. "—casual situation." 

Chris shrugged. "Yeah. Kinda. I don't know. I like him, but … I don't think we would work. You know, just us. I guess we are both a little too needy? I'm happy for him because … Phich found a way to get all the things he needs. And really, why would it have to be from the same person? But …" 

"You don't. Have everything you need, I mean." Viktor frowned at the man on the floor. Otabek was surprised he inserted himself at all. The two had been strangers until an hour ago, but here he was, speaking up. And apparently, hitting the nail on the head if one wanted to believe Chris' expression. "I know that feeling. Before I met Yuri—my Yuri, not Yura, obviously—I felt like that a lot of times. People have so many demands and wanting to meet all of them is very exhausting. But you should focus on yourself first. Especially in a poly relationship. And especially-especially if you are the third party." 

Chris looked at him for a moment, then exhaled slowly. He gave Viktor a half-smile. "I don't study psychology to learn wise things from a gay man on a friend's sofa, but I guess that just happened." 

"An  _ old _ gay man," Yuri threw into the room. "So it's okay. It's wisdom of age." Katsuki snickered, and Viktor elbowed him softly with the reprimand to ' _ please stick up for him.'  _

The only one looking somewhat lost was Medina. "Poly means … you are dating several people?" 

"It can mean that, yes. But it doesn't have to be dating. Basically it also means that your romantic attraction isn't limited to one person. Or your sexual attraction." 

"Those are different things?" 

"Oh, hell yeah." Chris nodded and sat up again, maybe to look her in the eyes. Otabek liked how respectful he was towards his sister. "You know, some people are hetero-sexual, and hetero-romantic. They are physically and emotionally attracted to people of another gender. I'm bisexual. That means I'm not sexually attracted to people of one particular gender  _ exclusively _ ." 

Medina nodded. "I understand. But what's the difference to being pan? I never got that." 

"You know about pansexuality?" Otabek was shocked, in a good way. He never even heard that term until he came to America. 

"I told you about that YouTuber who explained what trans is. They did a video on sexuality. But I didn't grasp the difference to being pan. At least, not in English." 

Otabek tried to explain it to her in Russian. "Being bisexual means you are attracted to people who are the same gender as you, as well as those of different genders. But like, one other gender. That's why it's called  _ bi _ sexual. On the other hand, pansexuality describes the circumstance when a person is attracted to all gender identities." 

Medina nodded slowly. "But isn't that, like, discriminating? Being bi, I mean?"

Otabek shook his head. "Being gay or being lesbian isn't discriminating, either. We can't choose who we are attracted to. Or to how many genders. No one can really be sure they aren't pan, I guess, because you never know if you won't meet an individual at some point with a gender orientation that surprises you, that don't fit into your expected system. But … technically, being one or the other is what you're born with." 

She nodded slowly. "So you are sexually attracted to men and women."

"Exactly. But it could have very well been men and people of other genders as well. Phichit is pan." 

"So he's attracted to everyone?" 

Chris laughed and shook his head. "It looks like that very often, but no. It just means he  _ could _ be. You aren't attracted to every boy out there, either, right?" 

Medina scrunched up her nose. "I'm not attracted to  _ any _ boys. They are dumb." Looking around the room, she blushed a little. "No offense. You guys don't count." 

The room was silent for a moment, then Chris grinned. "Maybe you should talk to Mila for a while." 

Otabek sighed. "Just finish your lesson and let her discover her world on her own." 

"I'm not gay," Medina informed them. "I just ... I don't like boys. But that doesn't mean I like girls, either. Right?" 

"Right." Otabek smiled at her, then leaned over to squeeze her hand. "I don't care who you like or if you like anyone. You're good the way you are. And romance isn't the only goal worth pursuing in life." 

She smiled and moved around to lean on him. "So. Romantic and sexual attraction?" Medina returned her attention to Chris. 

"Right. See, I'm not really romantically attracted to anyone. But I'm sexually attracted to men and women. Phichit is pansexual and panromantic. He's romantically and sexually attracted to people. Their gender doesn't matter." 

"Wait. You … aren't romantically attracted? To anyone?" 

"No. Not to my knowledge at least." 

"But … you don't fall in love?" 

"Well, I do love. Companionable. I love my family, I love my friends, I love Phichit. But not … romantically. I don't want to hold his hand and sing love songs for him or … I don't know. When you look at Beka and Yura, you can see they love each other. Companionably, romantically and sexually. That's basically the dream. But … sometimes, parts of that aren't happening. And that's okay." 

Medina nodded softly. "And … can you be romantically interested in someone, but not want sex?" 

"Yeah! That's called asexual. I'm aromantic. If both happen at the same time, it's called aro-ace." 

She sighed and grabbed her head. "That's a lot." 

Otabek smiled softly. She was right, it was a lot, but at least she had the opportunity to learn about it. He would have wished for someone to explain those things to him. 

When he eventually got up to go to the bathroom, Otabek had to stop for a moment. Right there, in the middle of the bathtub of all places, were Potya and Sebastian, curled around each other and napping peacefully. He took it as a good sign for the future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Venom, will you ever stop force-educating your readers through fanfic, you may ask? No.   
> I don't know WHY you are here, but my stories come with a free "Here is niche knowledge" subscription.   
> So I hope you might as well take it? 
> 
> Of course, described aspects are, as always in those fields, not ultimate or final.   
> Do you have any experience in those areas?   
> Come and talk to me!
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 6: Viktor and Yuri come over and so does Chris. Sebastian frees himself and runs off. A long hunt ensures, but eventually, he's found cuddling Potya in the bathtub.
> 
> Medina learns a lot about sexual and romantic attraction and Yuri is glad to spend some time with his family.

Otabek was struck dumb when he entered the kitchen the next morning. All he had wanted was to grab a snack but … "Are you okay?" 

Katsuki turned his head, looking startled. He was a deer in the headlights at that moment, but Otabek struggled to grasp  _ why _ . "Uuuh. Uhm. Yeah. I'm good! I'm fine. Thank you!" A watery smile, unease barely hidden behind dark brown eyes. 

"How come you're already awake?"

"That, uhm … I didn't … I didn't really sleep." 

Otabek settled next to him, then realized the artificial silence felt even more oppressing. "Do you want to eat something?" 

Katsuki shook his head and pointed at his tummy. "If I eat anymore, Viktor is probably going to leave me." He chuckled, but it was dark and on edge. 

"Does he ... know you think like that?" He nodded, somehow looking defeated. "And … what does he say?" Otabek didn't feel like Viktor was the type of person who would leave his partner over a few gained pounds. But what did he know? 

"He keeps telling me he loves me the way I am and that my weight plays no role in that. But what if he lies? Oh god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload all of that on you!" 

Otabek shook his head. "No, no. Please. I … please tell me about it, if you want. If it is comfortable." 

Katsuki smiled up at him, shyly, timidly, and wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes. "I'm just … I'm on edge, emotionally, because I didn't sleep. Give me a few hours and I'll be okay. Or a semblance of okay." 

Nodding once, Otabek decided to cut up an apple and present Katsuki with it. "Does that happen more often? That you're unable to sleep and stress out?" 

"All the time." 

"Shit. And there's nothing that helps you?" 

"Most of the time it's just … getting through it. Just waiting it out. Like panic attacks, you know?" 

Otabek frowned. "Wait. You have panic attacks?" 

He didn't understand why there was a small, sad smile on Katsuki's face. "Almost constantly." 

"But you … looked so calm and collected yesterday?" 

"Really?" Yuri's smile was bigger now, more genuine. "It makes me happy to hear that because I really wasn't. All the new people, and then the cat was gone and … that's probably why I crashed later. It was … a lot. But I'm happy to hear I didn't look the part!" It was sad how much genuine happiness he found in his convincing act. "I'll have to tell Viktor. He will be so proud." 

Otabek sighed and settled again, a second apple in hand. Yuri hadn't touched his. "Can I help you somehow?" 

"You already are helping. You're distracting me. That … that stops me from overthinking things. From panicking." 

Huh. The man didn't look like he was panicking at all. But on the other hand, Otabek thought he had been calm the day before, so maybe he just didn't understand the other. The way their cultures typically tended to express emotions was completely different, after all. "I'm sorry. If I had known it would be overwhelming, I would have invited you another day. Or, well, rather asked Chris to cancel." 

But Katsuki only smiled once more. Otabek began to wonder if this was his answer to feeling unwell. "No, please don't worry. My anxiety is forcing Viktor and me enough into solitude as it is. I'm glad we got to meet Chris and Medina and especially Sebastian. Sorry? Was that rude? I just … I love animals a lot. Potya is so beautiful, too." 

Otabek smiled back. "Yeah, I understand. We had so many animals back in Kazakhstan. Medina still has them around, which is why she had a million videos of kittens. She's at fault for Yura's wild plan to get Potya pregnant." 

"Baby animals. You're so lucky." I wish we could see them, but … we will be back in Japan by then. Can you send us videos?" 

Otabek nodded softly. "I promise." Then, there was silence for a few minutes, until small feet dragged across the floor. Medina, who was sleeping in the living room after generously evacuating the bedroom for Yuri and Viktor, was more falling than walking into the kitchen. Once she saw Otabek, she hugged him, then climbed onto his lap. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead." 

She answered with a humm and nuzzled against his shoulder. Katsuki grinned at them both. "You look good with a child." 

"'m not a chil'," came the quick protest. 

Otabek huffed a soft laugh against her ear and adjusted Medina's position. "People keep telling me that. But it's because I have seven younger sisters. I'm used to handling them." 

"You don't want kids on your own?" Katsuki tilted his head before his eyes went wide and his head turned angry red. "Oh god, I'm sorry. You didn't say that! I shouldn't have assumed. I'm so rude. Oh my god, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" 

"It's fine. My family is Kazakh. We are used to the questions." 

Katsuki paled suddenly, the effect leaving his skin looking blotchy and unhealthy. "Yura." 

"Yeah. I know." Otabek sighed and readjusted Medina yet again. She was getting heavier the more she grew, obviously, and so it got harder to comfortably hold her. At least on a kitchen chair. 

"Is your family giving him a hard time?" 

"Not just mine. His, too. But yes, my parents are very … stubborn when it comes to him and what he should be like and how he should behave. They still see my housewife in him. My breeding ground, excuse the term." 

Medina squirmed on his lap, frowned into his shoulder. "I don't see him like that." 

"I know. I know, I'm sorry." He kissed her head and she relaxed again. 

"What are you going to do about it?" 

"I don't know yet. We told them Yuri wouldn't be able to have children. That he struggled with that, which is true, and that they should leave us alone until we decide how we want to proceed." 

"How well is that working?" 

"As well as the American dream for most immigrants." 

Katsuki exhaled through his nose and began to slowly eat his apple. "It must stress him a lot. Both of you?" 

"Yeah. I'm … can I be honest?" A nod from Katsuki, Medina shrugged against him. "I think the whole kitten thing is him compensating. But … that's also why I want to support him so much. He needs this. For whatever reason." 

Another smile on Katsuki's lips. "You two. It's true what Chris said. You really seem to check every box on the entire love thing." 

Otabek tilted his head, thought about it for a moment. "People tend to idolize us because we work well together. And yes, we love each other a lot. But I don't think we are better than others, or even perfect. We just … have a very well-adjusted dynamic. He likes to talk, I like to listen. He likes to make decisions and I like to follow his guidance. He likes to—" 

"Fuck." Yuri stumbled into the kitchen and frowned at the table. 

"Yeah. That, too. Though that wasn't on my list to mention at the breakfast table." 

Yuri scrunched up his nose. "Why are all of you awake? I just wanted some water!" 

"'m no' awake." 

"Okay, why are two-thirds of you awake and the other part is using my husband as their drool-pillow?" 

Otabek chuckled and gestured for Yuri to come over for a kiss. "Don't be mean just because she stole your throne." 

"But it's mine!" Yuri protested, but that didn't stop him from giving Otabek more kisses. 

"Not really. It was hers long before you made it yours." 

Yuri huffed, then looked at Katsuki. "Did you flee from Viktor? His fucking snoring is so annoying. He once ruined a camping trip for the entire family." 

Katsuki laughed. "No, it helps me sleep. I just .. I didn't sleep last night. Was a little stressed out. Otabek decided to offer me some companionship. And an apple." 

Yuri looked at him again, his gaze soft and distant at the same time, before he smiled. Otabek received another tender kiss and Medina squirmed between them. "Hey! Don't trap me! You two are gross!"

He couldn't help but smile against Yuri's lips. Their life was wild and often a little exhausting, especially when it came to demands from their family, but moments like those were worth all the rest. 

\----------- 

"And you are sure you have to leave already?" Yuri looked quite unhappy with that revelation, even though he struggled to show his appreciation about their arrival just a day before. 

"Yes, I'm sorry, Yurochka. But Yuri and I are only here in passing. It was a coincidence we could come at all. If Beka hadn't called us, we wouldn't even have thought to combine the trip with a visit. Oh. Was that rude? I didn't mean it in a rude way." Viktor sighed and rubbed his temple. 

Yuri shrugged it off, then even hugged him for a moment. "You're always welcome if you want to come over and visit. I hope you know." 

Katsuki and Viktor nodded, the former now wrapped in a slightly tighter hug by Otabek's husband. He hugged both men, too, when it was time. "Thank you for coming. It means a lot to us. And I'm so happy you got to meet Medina, this time properly." They all had been in the same room together during the wedding ceremony, but until now, they had barely spoken to each other. 

Everyone said their goodbyes, then the apartment was a little emptier again. 

"I can't believe you invited fucking Viktor." 

"Was that wrong?" 

"No. Of course not. Just … I don't know. We barely talked all those years, and now he was suddenly here. With his husband, his gay husband with my name, and he's fucking  _ lovely _ and … I don't know how to deal with all of this." Otabek pulled him against his chest and gave Yuri some small kisses. Taking a few deep breaths, the smaller man clung to him. "I would like to see them more often. You know?" 

He knew. Having family around that actually accepted you felt like heaven. Otabek nodded, then smiled at Medina. She was studying them both with a lot of interest before jumping to her feet. 

"I think I'm going into the city for a bit. See if I can find some souvenirs or something, for ana and äke." 

Otabek blinked. That … came out of nowhere. "Do you want me to come help you look? I know where—" 

"Nah. I'll manage. Have fun! I'll be gone for … let's say three hours?" She winked at Otabek. What the fuck? Was she … did she just … He gave her a little nod. 

Medina laughed and went to her room to get her backpack. Then, she was gone and suddenly Otabek was alone with Yuri. The apartment felt bigger. Yuri seemed smaller in his arms. 

He gazed up at Otabek, a confused look in his eyes before Yuri whispered, "Did she … really just leave so we could fuck?!" 

\----------- 

Otabek followed his husband. For a moment he thought they looked like one of those terrible fake Instagram couples as he stared at their joined hands. But it didn't feel terrible and it didn't feel fake. Yuri smiled over his shoulder and it was perfect in every way. Otabek went to the bedroom with him, but then Yuri paused in the door. 

"It's too fucking warm to tangle into our sheets." He frowned for a moment, eyebrows drawn tight before he turned and pulled Otabek into the bathroom instead. 

"The shower? Really?" 

"Do you have a better idea?" 

No. He had to admit he did not have a better idea. So Otabek shrugged and went along before Yuri locked them both in the bathroom. He put Potya's litter box out before the door closed, ensuring they would have time for themselves. 

"Two options, since Medina gifted us with three full hours. Either, you fuck me hard against the glass, or it turns into a long stretch of oral." 

Otabek shook his head. "Not today. Do me a favor and go pick some nice, comfy clothes for us that we can get into afterward. The rest I'll take care of." 

Yuri seemed surprised. Usually, Otabek went along with his ideas on sex, but the concept of his partner planning something must have appealed to him because he ran off to do as he was told. 

Otabek smiled to himself and went to work. He strut back out of the bathroom and gathered a few things from the apartment. Yuri eyed him and his arms full of clutter suspiciously, but Otabek didn't care. He locked himself back in and prepared what he had in mind. 

Once he opened the door to Yuri almost fifteen minutes later, their bathroom was transformed. Otabek had hung up fairy lights over the shower stall and set up candles all around the tub. The water was dark blue and glittery—he had used one of Yuri's favorite bath bombs and hoped he would be forgiven. Soft music played in the background and he was shamelessly naked already, yet not hard. So far. 

Yuri took all of the room in, took him in, and dropped the little bundles of clothes onto the sink. 

He went to the window and closed the blinds, throwing the room into darkness. Only the soft, warm white glow of the lights and the gentle flickering from the candles whenever their movement produced a small current strong enough to jostle them kept both men from being blinded. 

They gave each other soft smiles. There was no need to talk in moments like this. Otabek held out his hand and Yuri took it, climbing into the tub just a moment after his husband. It was one of the luxuries in their apartment and fit them both without much hassle. 

Otabek guided Yuri to lie between his legs, his back to Otabek's chest. "Hello there, beautiful." 

Yuri grinned and relaxed against him, even releasing a little moan. "Hey, sexy. It's too warm for a bath." 

"Too late, I guess." Yuri purred in confirmation and reached behind him to touch Otabek. Not sexually, not yet, but just to ground himself. Otabek wrapped strong arms around his husband. "Where can I touch?" 

Writhing against his body, Yuri smiled. "Everywhere." 

Otabek kissed his neck, let his hands fall down to Yuri's own, and grabbed them. He guided their joined hands to Yuri's middle and rubbed them over his partner's strong, taunt abdomen. "Everywhere is a lot. We don't have to go there." 

Yuri hummed again and gently pulled their joined hands down to rest below his waistline. Otabek brushed his fingertips through short, coarse hair and Yuri moaned quietly. 

It was erotic in a way Otabek didn't understand, but it was still there, and he didn't want to stop. But he  _ would _ if Yuri actually indicated any kind of discomfort. "Is this okay, too?" 

Yuri nodded and cantered his hips up, causing Otabek's hands to fall down a little, to brush over his husband's clit. "This, too." 

It was a first. Yuri had continued to explore his body and its limits. Touching him like this had always been too much, for himself and for Otabek. He allowed the vibe in the harness, just because it threatened to knock him out with pleasure more than once, but otherwise, he was strict when it came to that part of his body. 

Right now was, apparently, an exception. As if reading Otabek's thoughts, Yuri continued to explain, his voice already a little breathy and lulled. "I'm … feeling good about me today. And … I don't mean I like my ‘girl parts’. I just … I feel enough like a guy to touch them without … being scared that liking it would change anything." Otabek swallowed and rested his flat palm over Yuri. His husband grinded into the touch, unashamed. "Just … don't put anything in. Not there." 

Otabek nodded and kissed his lover's temple. "Of course, baby. Whatever you like." He hadn't noticed how breathless he was already, until he spoke and his deep voice almost vibrated. Yuri seemed to like it. He bucked up. 

"Here's the deal, teddy. You touch me and play with me with those big, strong, calloused hands? And once I'm done, I'm jumping on that big, hard cock and ride it until you—" 

"Юрийым …" His voice was strained. Yuri squirming and talking like that had been enough to rile Otabek up. He changed his hip position and made sure that Yuri could feel what he was doing to his husband. 

A quiet groan and Yuri pressed back, the other hand already between his legs. "Altinym …" Yuri's head turned and they kissed, slowly at first, but the pace quickened soon. Otabek still had his entire palm pressed down on his husband, moved it back and forth now. Yuri kept whimpering, his own hands working fast enough to make splashing noises in the water. 

"Slowly, baby. Don't rush. We have time." Yuri's hand stilled, he exhaled carefully. Otabek could feel him twitch a little. "There we go. Don't worry, sweetheart. We will get to it. But I need you to go slowly. I don't want to hurt you." 

Yuri whined and huffed on top of him, hips bucking slightly. He was demanding stimulation and Otabek obliged happily. He bit Yuri's neck, licked the glitter from his jaw bone, even though it was a terrible idea. Otabek nibbled on the shell of his ear, grinded the heel of his hand into Yuri's clit. 

The young man gasped, again cantering his hips to chase more of the gentle, yet maddening touch. "Teddy, you'll have to fuck me so hard, you fucking tease, I swear to God, you—" 

Otabek silenced him with a kiss and raised his second hand to pinch Yuri's nipple. A gasp fell from the latter's lips, followed by the whine of an animal on a leash, so close to feeding but never reaching the bowl. 

Yuri changed his tactic. He began to move the two fingers inside of him again, and began to beg. Small, tender pleas fell from his lips, asking for everything his husband had to give. 

Otabek wanted to drown in the symphony of  _ 'Please. Please, Teddy, touch me. Touch me and never stop. Right there.' _ Yuri knew how to press his buttons. Otabek barely registered what was going on between his partner's legs until Yuri leaned up, hands on the rim of the tub, and pushed himself back. 

He held Otabek at the base, then sunk down slowly, but with the determination that was typical for him. 

Yuri's noises were obscene. It was a good thing Medina was gone because the bathroom amplified the shameless moaning even more. Otabek could hear his husband's pleasure from every angle, it bounced back to him just like his lover's movements. 

Otabek didn't even know where Yuri found whatever he used as lube. Maybe it was conditioner or Vaseline. Fuck if he cared. All that mattered was the slow glide of Yuri riding him. Water was a terrible lubricant, even though the general concept suggested otherwise, but whatever Yuri managed to get between them did a good job to ensure a smooth movement. 

He only noticed how much Yuri struggled when Otabek saw his arms shake, every time he raised his weight off of him. In the beginning, Otabek thought Yuri was so sensitive because he was new to all of this, but nothing changed in the last months. Yuri still came quickly. And often. He was whining on top of Otabek, and now that he actively listened, he heard all the little noises of pleasure, too. 

"Bekam, please … please, please, please, let me cum." At the start, it had been mostly convenient for Yuri to ask for his orgasms, after their very first blowjob incident, it made sense. But over the months, he seemed to have trained himself into being  _ unable _ to cum without being ordered to. Which Otabek loved fiercely. 

He began to move his hand again, dragging his fingers over Yuri's most sensitive parts. The man in his lap groaned and gasped, almost cried when Otabek moved faster. Yuri had always been proud and demanding, but he begged happily when it came to sex. He had no shame, nothing that held him back except his own limits. 

"Bekam, please. Please, I need this. Come on. Please." Yuri was close to sobbing now, head thrown back and mouth open. 

And even though Otabek had mostly been visually and auditorily stimulated, the way Yuri begged brought him close to his own downfall. "Just a minute, жаным. Just a moment." He sat up and kissed Yuri's shoulder blades, then pulled him back as best as the tight space allowed. Water sloshed around them, so Otabek pulled the plug. Yuri protested, when the water level fell. 

"No! Why! It's getting col—" 

He was silenced when Otabek grabbed the hand shower and turned it on, adjusting the temperature. Yuri clenched around him, almost as if he was trying to milk him with the rhythmic movements. Otabek groaned and Yuri clenched harder. He bobbed up and down a few times, ignoring the puddles of midnight liquid he spilled onto the bathroom floor with his bouncing. But Otabek stilled him, one hand over Yuri's lap. 

He sat up fully, his front to Yuri's back, and pressed his hips upward, generating the smallest movement. Yuri whimpered. He was so close, Otabek could feel it in the way his body seemed to melt. "Almost, baby." Once he was sure the hand shower had a pleasant temperature, Otabek turned it all the way up and twisted it around. He aimed it between Yuri's legs.

The moment it made contact, he was gone. Begging, permission, then full-on screaming. Yuri had never been the silent type. Otabek had never tried to encourage him to be less loud. Against all odds, their neighbors didn't complain. 

Yuri on top of him was bliss. The man was thrashing almost violently, shivering against Otabek, and mumbling unintelligible nonsense. When Yuri was done, Otabek just kept going. He thrust up a few times, rubbed Yuri's clit, put the water pressure on it. He had always been a fan of overstimulation. Yuri cried out in bliss, again and again. In the end, Otabek was unsure  _ how often _ his husband had cum. Half the bathroom was swimming now. He was riding out the last waves of his own orgasm, Yuri still twitching for him. Otabek's teeth were lodged into his husband's neck. Only a minute later, his brain kicked in enough to turn off the water. 

Yuri couldn't move on his own. He was boneless, not even really there mentally. So Otabek pulled out, causing the man in his arms to whine, and dragged him back against his chest. 

Yuri nuzzled into him, completely gone. Except for a shiver every few seconds, he was immobile. Otabek rubbed his back, kissed his shoulder, held him with all the love in the world. He wouldn't have gotten up if Yuri hadn't started to shake in his arms, obviously freezing, even though he didn't look like he actually realized what was going on. 

He knew from the start that he would be the one having to do the cleanup, but it was worth it. Otabek lifted Yuri out of the tub, bundled him up in a robe, and held him. His husband was a limp ragdoll in his arms, but whenever their eyes met, Yuri gave him a dopey smile. Otabek carried him to the living room and wrapped him in a thin blanket. It was still too warm for it, but this was a comfort thing. He made Yuri some tea and put it next to him with a banana before he kissed his head and went back to clean the bathroom. 

  
Otabek wasn't entirely out the door when he heard Yuri mumble a soft  _ “ _ I love you so much.”  __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some talking between the boys, a bit more Medina, and a lot more bathtub sex.   
> And since I know y'all are shy to comment on sex scenes, why don't you tell me instead who of the side characters is your favorite/ least favorite and why?
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 7: Katsuki and Otabek have a long conversation in the kitchen, Medina joins in. Viktor and Katsuki have to leave again and say their goodbyes. Medina decided to leave, too, so Otabek and Yuri can have some time for themselves. They use it for bathtub sex.

The doorbell rang and Medina jumped up. "I'll get it!" 

Yuri watched her, barely lifting his head from Otabek's lap. The latter considered it cute. He leaned down to kiss his husband's cheek. 

"Isn't that your guest?" 

"It's  _ our _ guest." Yuri was still a mess, slurring his words as if he was tipsy. Otabek knew that wasn't true. He was still tired, even though he slept like a rock all night. But yesterday obviously wore him out and Otabek wasn't entirely sure why he decided to invite Chris, if Yuri barely felt like walking. 

Something about the cats and them getting to know each other better. Yuri read that they would need to be with each other for a while to get comfortable. It would also be preferable for them to couple even before Potya's heat, just so they knew what they were doing. 

So they had food and water and cat beds in almost every room now, courtesy of Medina, who had been gone for the three promised hours and a half more to get everything she brought home. Yuri had been so out of it, he only gave her a thumbs up and she was obviously worried for a moment, until she spotted the bite mark. Then, Medina laughed, dropped her bags and disappeared into her room rather quickly. 

For breakfast, she had a handful of questions, but neither Yuri nor Otabek were too excited to answer. At least not the personal ones. Otabek was grateful his husband still seemed to be a little out of it for most of it, or Yuri would probably have been less shy. 

Maybe that was the reason Medina jumped excitedly to open the door for Chris. The two of them got along amazingly, mostly because they liked to talk about the same topic. Otabek wondered if it was a teenager thing or a knowledge acquisition thing. Medina never expressed any sexual interest in a person, only in the concept itself. 

There was a squeal from the hallway and then a high pitched laugh. Shortly after, Medina dragged Phichit into the living room, followed by Chris and Sebastian. 

"LOOK WHO'S HERE!" She beamed at both of them. Phichit grinned back and promptly hugged her. For a moment Medina seemed startled, but then she eased into the touch. 

"I know. I 'nvited 'em" 

Chris began to laugh when he heard Yuri talk. "Long night?" Yuri answered him with a blissful, still dazed grin, and Chris nodded. "Okay then, Mister Luckypants. Can I unleash the beast?" 

Yuri confirmed silently, but didn't move any more than absolutely necessary. 

The carrier set onto the floor, Chris opened the door. This time, Sebastian didn't bolt. Instead, he walked out at an almost leisurely pace, head and tail raised high. He strutted first to Phichit and rubbed against his leg, then turned to inspect the apartment. 

It was a straight up miracle the cats hadn't murdered each other the last time they met and everyone was aware. This time, they were properly prepared. Both cats had been fed at home. Both cats had a schedule they were on that had been previously synced to each other. Once Sebastian looked around the room a bit, he was placed into the cat bed in the living room. After a while, they changed locations, putting him into every single place Potya enjoyed until only the bedroom was left—her current residence. 

That would be it for a while. No one was naive enough to believe they could expect the same reaction as last time and this introduction had been planned from the start. Of course, it wasn't as complicated as getting two cats to constantly live with each other, but the point was, everyone wanted them to actually get along. Yuri knew Potya would go into heat at some point in the next few weeks, so letting them sniff each other out and get acclimated to the other's scent was important. No one wanted any hurt animals in the process. 

"Bekam?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Do you think we should give them more climbing opportunities?" Yuri looked around the room and at the floating, dead plants. Medina had tried to replace them, but Yuri insisted on them staying. He was weirdly proud of the installment, even though it hadn't worked out the way they had wanted it to. 

Otabek sighed. "I will never get my security deposit back, will I?" Yuri shrugged. They had already put enough holes into the wall for two apartments. It didn't really matter, Otabek had to agree. "Fine. Yeah. Sure." 

Defeat was easy to admit when he thought about the long term implications. Because even if Sebastian would be gone soon enough, they would be left with a bunch of kittens that wanted to move and play and toy around, too. The more space they had to do so without interrupting the humans, the better. 

"Maybe you should move." 

"What?!" Yuri and Chris stared at each other. 

Otabek would have said the same thing as his husband, if he had been able to make a sound. Therefore, he could only add to Yuri's question. "Why would we want to move?!" 

Chris looked around. "Your apartment isn't exactly … big. Like, yes, it's spacious, but … you bought it with one person in mind. And now there's two of you, and Potya, and potentially more Potyas and … if we and your families keep showing up, it might get stuffy at some point?" Chris shrugged. "Aren't your parents like, rich? Why not ask mommy and daddy for—" 

"You better not finish that sentence," Otabek growled. "The money I have, I made myself. And my parents might not be too badly off, but I have seven sisters they need to support and—" 

"I don't." It was almost a whisper, but still, Yuri's words were clear. 

"We won't take alms from your parents just to move out of a perfectly functional apartment." 

Yuri bit his lip. "I want to." 

That honestly surprised Otabek. It wasn't like Yuri to demand things in life, especially not from others. Not when it came to material things. "Are you … sure?" He didn't know why he was even entertaining that thought long enough to ask. The apartment was fine. They didn't need to move. They had enough space for themselves, their friends, their pets, their families—He frowned and looked at his husband. There wasn't much left of the proud, blissed-out expression from earlier. Yuri looked smaller and shrank into himself, but he still managed to look resolute. "Are you … thinking there might not be enough space? For … friends?" 

"And family," Chris added, a little too suggestively. Yuri glared at him, but then, he turned his head and nodded at Otabek. 

"I just … yeah. One guest bedroom isn't enough. You've seen it with Viktor and Katsuki, they had to sleep on the couch. We can't have that. Right?" 

What a weird moment. Otabek knew what this was about and he hadn't even expected Yuri to address the topic. But there had been hints for a while, he had to admit. 

Leaning forward, Otabek took his hands. "айналайын,  _ my precious _ , how … how about we focus on one thing right now? Yeah?" It wasn't that he wanted to say no to Yuri. Otabek wished for a family. But breeding kittens and moving and considering a family … it seemed like a lot, especially with Yuri still in university. 

A shaky breath and Yuri squeezed his hands, then nodded. "So. Kittens." 

Otabek nodded back and pulled him against his chest. "Kittens." 

The room was quiet for a while, until Sebastian started to scratch on the bedroom door. Yup. Otabek wouldn't see his security deposit again. 

\---------- 

Over the next week, they kept introducing the cats little by little. Chris came over almost every day, and when he didn’t, Sebastian would stay with the Altins. Sometimes he brought Phichit along, sometimes he didn't. Medina caught on to that pretty quickly, but after a few chats about poly relationships, she seemed to stop wondering. Otabek had to remind himself to talk to her before she went home, or their parents would never allow her to return for another visit. 

Yuri didn't bring up moving again, nor did they talk about the number of extra rooms. Otabek was grateful for that because he didn't know what to think. The concept was pleasant in theory but scary in reality. 

His husband was fully focused on the cats. Yuri kept reading about them, watching videos and tutorials. He spoke to medical professionals. Otabek had to admit, he was impressed. At the start, he thought Yuri would rush head over heels into this and lose himself in all the complex information, but here he was. Focused, organized, absolutely serious about doing this right. 

After feeding the cats next to each other through the doors, they finally dared to remove the barrier when neither of them complained about each other's scent, and later, sight. Yuri was nervously buzzing next to Otabek by the time he climbed over the pet gate they installed just for that. He took out a laser pointer, dropping it in his haste, and picked it up again. Potya immediately went to play, hunting the red dot as if she could actually catch it. Chris did the same with Sebastian, and Otabek removed the gate. 

Nothing happened. No stare down, no chasing, no hunting. The cats played excitedly, getting slowly closer to each other until finally, they separated them again. Hopefully for the last time. 

Yuri exhaled slowly when the door closed, leaving Potya the bedroom.

"That went well, right?" Phichit looked up from his place on the sofa. Medina sat curled against him, and they seemed to have been taking photos. Otabek smiled at the sight and she returned the gesture. 

"Yeah. They really don't care too much about each other. In a good way. In a  _ 'we don't want to fight' _ way." Chris nodded, content with the situation. "How are you guys holding up? Is Phichit bothering you, young lady?" He dropped onto the sofa next to the others, but Medina didn't flinch away. Instead, she laughed. 

Otabek had an arm full of husband all of a sudden, as Yuri sighed and buried his face against Otabek's chest. "Hey there. What's going on?" 

Yuri shrugged and leaned up for a kiss, but his eyes were slightly glassy. Otabek took him by the hand and led him to the kitchen, where he sat his lover down with a cup of tea. Yuri complained it was too hot, but he drank it anyway since he didn't want to listen to Otabek's rant on the necessity of drinking warm things during summer. 

After a while, Yuri spoke. "I'm just … confused." Otabek nodded. He had seen the signs himself, so this didn't surprise him. "There's … so much going on. Emotionally." 

He took Yuri's hand to try and show sympathy and companionship, but Yuri didn't look like that was what he needed. Otabek was at a loss. "Talk to me." 

A nod, then Yuri inhaled slowly. Preparing himself to speak. He blinked up at Otabek, back down, then exhaled. Another try just a second later and the same result. Otabek squeezed his hand. 

"You are allowed to talk about children. Even if you don't want to talk to my parents. You are allowed to talk to me. You don't have to, of course, I just mean … it's not a crime to want to keep things to yourself, and it's not a crime to want to speak to just a few people about it." 

Yuri nodded and raised their joined hands to kiss Otabek's knuckles. "I'm scared." 

"Scared?" 

"Of the … kittens." He looked as if he was deflating a little, just by phrasing it that way. Otabek wouldn't interfere with his choice of words, though. 

"How can I help you then?" 

Yuri gave him a small, grateful smile. "You already help. So much." This time, it was Otabek who kissed his partner's knuckles. "It's just … what if things go wrong? What if I'm a terrible … father ... For Potya." He chewed his lip, obviously conflicted. 

When Otabek was afraid Yuri would draw blood, he raised his thumb and smoothed it over Yuri's mouth. "You will be an amazing father." He didn't add  _ 'for Potya' _ because Otabek was convinced the specification wasn't necessary. 

Big, emerald green eyes searched his, glittering and dull at the same time. Otabek didn't understand Yuri, or the way he expressed himself, but he loved him all the same. "Even if they aren't … my kittens?" The thought made Otabek's lip twitch into a short-lived smirk, before he wrestled it down again so he wouldn't look like he was ridiculing Yuri. But he noticed. Of course, he did. "What?!" Otabek shook his head, but Yuri kicked him in the shins. "WHAT?!"

"NOTHING! I just … I would be highly confused if Potya had your kittens. Even though the cat boy version of you would be—" 

Yuri groaned his name and threw his hands over his own eyes. "You're a terrible person." 

"You made me say it." Admitting defeat, Yuri nodded. 

"I guess." 

Then, there was silence for a while. Otabek allowed himself to breathe it in. He looked around, noticed the things he saw every day and the things he never registered. Their wallpaper was textured. Some of the white paint looked off in the light filtering in. There was a spider web in the right corner, somewhere high on the ceiling. Soon, they would have to take the trash out. The summer heat made it smell so much. Still on the breakfast table was a little dried spill of orange juice. One of the fridge magnets was turned on its head. A lot of tiny things could be interesting, almost fascinating, if one took the time to actually look at them. 

Otabek turned his head and caught Yuri's eyes. He had been staring into the distance, maybe looking at a future they both weren't certain of. Maybe thinking about the shopping list. Otabek squeezed his hand once more, waiting until he had Yuri's full attention. "Trust me, жаным. You'll be an amazing father." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are OFFICIALLY past the halfway point of the second story! 
> 
> And our boy(s) did some soul searching this chapter, who would have thought.  
> Now before I end this chapter, I want to inform you all about an upcoming project!  
> THIS WEEK on Saturday, I finally begin to publish "Superfan", the next big project. Over a dozen creators joined me for that babey and I am SO excited to showcase what we worked on! If you don't want to miss out, subscribe to me as an author!  
> See you there! ♥
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 8   
> They introduce the cats to each other in a slow and tedious process. Chris also mentions moving, which Yuri would prefer, but Otabek isn't really liking the idea. Yuri admits that the entire ordeal might not have been about cats alone.

"I can't believe I will miss it!" Medina cried and hugged Otabek, then Yuri."It's not fair! I helped!" She was visibly upset. Otabek was just grateful that her frustration seemed to be focused on the situation, not him as a person. Or them, rather. 

"I know you helped." Yuri squeezed her tight, then kissed her forehead, a gesture he had stolen from Otabek and that made Medina blush every single time. "And we can video chat whenever you want. I promise I'll call you once it gets serious." 

She nodded, obviously still visibly upset. But school was about to start again, and Medina had to return to Kazakhstan. No matter how much everyone wanted to change the fact, she would have to leave. 

Otabek tried to appease her. "But listen, she's going to go into heat any day now. Right? And then, when she's actually pregnant, it takes roughly nine weeks to carry the kittens to term." Medina nodded, all of this wasn't new information to her, so she wasn't sure what her brother tried to tell her here. "In nine weeks, the school will be closed for a week. I looked up your schedule for this year. So … if the universe is kind, we might actually manage to have you on video call because you won't have school to attend." 

Medina lit up and hugged him tight. "Maybe ana and äke will—" Otabek shook his head and held her closer. He knew that wouldn’t happen and so did she. It had been more than expected to be granted a whole summer together; Medina wouldn't be allowed to visit them before December. If they were lucky. 

She pulled back reluctantly. It had been going on like this for almost half an hour now. Next, Medina would turn to Phichit and Chris and swear them into answering her and texting as much as possible. Phichit would swear on his hamster not to let their Snapchat streak die and Medina would try very hard not to cry. Mila would hug her next, sandwiching the smaller girl between her and Sara in a big group hug. Leo would squeeze her enough to make her bones pop and Guang Hong and Minami would tenderly hug her after that. 

Otabek knew, because it was the third round of this. But he didn't care, no one did. Everyone indulged her. Medina had become a part of the gang during her time in America, even though she was a lot younger than most of them. It evidently didn't stop them from loving her. 

Only when time threatened to run out, she sat down and said her goodbye to Potya and Sebastian, who were hard to separate at this point. If she wasn't rolling on the floor or rubbing up to one of them, Potya would drag her companion into one of the numerous cat beds and cuddle with him for hours. 

When she finally got up, Medina sighed so deeply, it was almost a groan. "And I  _ really _ have to leave?" The group nodded. No one wanted to, but today Otabek had hissed at them to be adults for once and to not make this harder than it had to be. 

The drive to the airport was almost silent, but from time to time, Otabek heard a little sniffle. All those years he had thought his sisters gladly followed into their parents' footsteps. But Medina was living, breathing, sniffling proof that it wasn't true. She wasn't full of disrespect for his way to live, she made an effort, she wanted to learn and to educate and to share space with people as different as possible. Not to laugh but to grow. And now, she was crying because she had to leave the freedom she found. 

Otabek's heart ached because the feeling was understandable to him. He loved Kazakhstan and was fiercely proud of his heritage. He loved his family and their traditions and the food and the community and all the things that made his home distinctly his home. But America had freed him in more than one way. It had done the same for Yuri, and Otabek could see that Medina felt similar. "You can return, you know? Whenever you want. You can return." Her shaky breathing made Otabek's neck hair rise. But he saw her nodding in the rear view mirror. "America has international schools, too, you know." 

Medina turned to look out of the window, but she nodded. Of course she knew. 

\---------- 

"And you make sure to stay where people can see you. At best, close to families. Okay? And don't take anything anyone offers you. Don't leave your luggage unattended. Please call once you board and please call once you touch ground and—" 

"Otabek." Yuri rested his warm palm on Otabek's shoulder. "She got here just fine. She knows." 

Medina, teary eyed and sniffling, pushed her chin forward and nodded at Yuri. "I can do this! It's not the first time!" 

"I know. I know it's not. Sorry. I'm just …" 

"A dad." Yuri rubbed his back, trying to soothe Otabek, but the words made his stomach bubble weirdly. 

He gave his husband a small smile. "I guess." 

Medina hugged them both for the hundredth time. "And next summer? I can come back, right? I'm allowed to come back?" 

"Of course. Maybe even for Christmas. I'll pay for your ticket." Yuri kissed her forehead and Medina turned crimson. Whenever Otabek thought she managed to wrestle her little crush on Yuri down, he did something like that and the poor girl nearly exploded. 

They stayed with her as long as they were allowed, but when Medina had to go to the gates, Otabek had to say goodbye. "Сау бол, Абай бол." 

Yuri watched them both. He must have recognised the words by now.  _ Sau bol, Abai bol. Be well, be careful.  _ Something Otabek kept telling him whenever he went out in a crop top or hot pants, and something Yuri liked to brush off, but only on the surface. Otabek knew he was thinking about it. Which gave him hope that Yuri would actually be careful. No matter how kind America was, hateful people were everywhere. And Yuri was pretty, loud and provocative. 

Otabek hugged Medina for another moment, then abruptly turned around and simply walked off. He had to or he would start crying in the middle of the airport and that would be ridiculous. He settled on a bunch of grimy chairs. They’d do the job. 

Yuri joined him a moment later and rubbed his back again. "I told her you'd have to leave so she wouldn't have to see your big boy tears." Otabek sniffled a little and Yuri laughed, then hugged him. "Oh teddy, come on." 

A few kisses to Otabek's cheek, and he managed to stand up and walk to the exit. "I'll miss her." 

"Bitch, me too." Yuri sighed and frowned, then shook his head. "Sorry, I'm still a little …" 

"Yeah. I know." They nodded silently, both not even halting their walk. 

When they reached the car, they lingered outside for a moment. The air had heated up enough to roast them if they climbed in now, so with wide open doors, they had to wait. 

Yuri and Otabek were silent. It was comfortable between them, as almost always. A few birds chirped and Otabek wondered if they would find enough water during the heat period to stay hydrated. 

Cars passed by, wind rustled the leaves around them. They would change color and fall off at some point, but now, during August, they still had a bit of life left. 

"Thank you." 

Otabek raised his head and looked over to the smaller man. Yuri wasn't fumbling or curled into himself, so he wasn't nervous. Otabek took this as a good sign. "For what?" 

Yuri's lip ticked into a warm, little smile and he turned now, soft forest eyes on Otabek. The heat in his cheeks made them look like they were burning, and Otabek couldn't stop thinking about how handsome his husband was. How vibrant. How lively. "Thank you for always being there for me." 

The statement was so out of the blue, so confusing, Otabek didn't know what to say for a moment. He climbed into the car and Yuri followed him, but it was still too warm to drive. They held hands instead. 

"I'm not sure I follow?" 

"That's okay." Yuri raised their entangled hands and placed a little kiss on them. "You don't have to." 

"You just wanted to say  _ 'thank you' _ ?"

Yuri nodded and bit into one of his knuckles, then smirked when Otabek flinched. A moment later, his gaze melted again. "I just love you so fucking much, Altin." 

"I love you, too." He raised their hands again, so Yuri could bite him once more. Otabek wasn't the biggest fan of it, but he knew his husband enjoyed the little teasing. 

Yuri gratefully accepted the gesture and bit his knuckles two or three times, then dropped their hands again. "No, but seriously. I love you so goddamn much. And I'm grateful to have you. Most people wouldn't accept me the way I am, but you support me. Always. You let me have cat babies, you invite my family over, you endure my fight with myself and my body and—" 

"We are already married. You know that, right?" 

Yuri laughed and punched his upper arm. "You fucking dumbass shithead, I swear. Just take a compliment for once!" 

Otabek hummed and grabbed his chin, then pulled Yuri into a gentle, slow kiss. "You make it sound like it is an effort to endure you. It's not. It's my pleasure. You are my pleasure." 

Smiling into the kiss, Yuri snaked his arm into Otabek's lap. "Do you want me to show you how much of a pleasure I can be?" 

With a smirk, Otabek plucked his husband's hand away from his own crotch. "We are in public, Юрийым." 

"I know." Yuri grinned back and leaned over the middle console, deepening their kiss. That's when Otabek realised he meant it. 

"Baby—" he tried against Yuri's lips, but this one word alone sounded so much less like protest and so much more like indulgence, Otabek wasn't sure if he could trust himself. Because he wanted Yuri. He always did. But maybe right now wasn't the time to—Otabek's thoughts were interrupted by Yuri's fingers, caressing his thigh. 

"Tell me  _ 'stop' _ and I'll stop immediately." He knew Yuri wasn't joking. Mutual respect of each other's boundaries was a cornerstone of their marriage. Otabek didn't say  _ 'stop',  _ though. Instead, he fisted his hand into Yuri's fluffy hair, a ponytail to escape the heat. 

"We are in public." Yuri hummed. "People could walk by." Yuri hummed again. "This is a serious offense." The hand on his leg went higher, now tracing a finger over his dick. Otabek's brain whined and preened under the attention. "What if … we can't afford something like that on our records …" Yuri stilled. He looked up, searching Otabek's eyes. 

"Why not?" The question wasn't born from the actual inability to understand. Yuri knew why not. Otabek could see it. But he wanted him to  _ say it _ . 

All Otabek could do was breathe. He tried to regain his bearings. When had he gotten so worked up? Part of him scolded himself for interrupting this, but Otabek knew—it wasn't his brain. He stared into Yuri's eyes, swallowed, then licked his lips. 

Yuri leaned back, retreated into his seat. "We should go home." 

_ Yeah _ . Otabek nodded. They should go home. 

\---------- 

The atmosphere during the car ride was weird. Not in a bad way, not necessarily. Yuri was curled into himself, but he didn't radiate anger or unhappiness. He seemed thoughtful. 

"Are you okay, baby?" 

"Hmm?" The distant look in his eyes vanished when Yuri's thoughts snapped back to the present. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Do you want to … I don't know. Should I pick out some music, or …" 

"We could … I don't know. Address the elephant in the room?" Otabek gave him a quick glance. 

"Hmm." His mumble was contemplative. "I thought you said cat babies first?" 

Otabek nodded. He had said that. Damn. But … "This seems to be on your mind a lot." 

Yuri gave him a long look. "It is. There's … so much expectation." His words were hesitant, not at all like Yuri. It made Otabek wonder if he really wanted this himself or if Yuri was contemplating it for the sake of their families. 

"I don't want to force anything on us." Otabek reached out his hand, tentatively, hoping Yuri would take it. He did. 

"Me neither. I just …" His sentence trailed into nothing. Silence for a moment, then Yuri inhaled deeply. It sounded troubled. "I don't want to miss our chance. Whatever our chance is." 

Otabek squeezed his partner's hand. "Do you feel ready?" 

Yuri laughed. It sounded bitter. "No. Half of the time I feel like taking care of myself is too much of a task. Sometimes I wonder when you'll wake up and realise you married a baby and …" Another unfinished sentence, but Otabek understood. "You are so good. With me. With our friends. With Potya and Medina and … seeing you with kids always makes my heart try to jump out of my chest. But then I feel like I'm still half a child. This is my second puberty. I don't think I should have … I don't think I'm ready. Not for human babies." After finishing the last sentence, Yuri clamped his lips shut, obviously done talking. 

Otabek gave him a careful smile, trying to coax him out from behind the emotional wall he was building. "I'm not ready, either. I'm just good at pretending. I know what I'm doing with kids because I have so many siblings. But that doesn't mean I'm … emotionally there. Yet." He glanced quickly at Yuri and was delighted to see his husband relax. 

"So we agree. We both want kids at some point, but right now isn't the time?" Yuri looked at him, eyes big and bright again. It warmed Otabek's heart to see him so open and vulnerable. 

"Let's focus on the cat babies, and if we don't completely ruin those … we can talk about humans again. Deal?" 

Slumping over the middle console, Yuri rested his head against Otabek's shoulder and sighed. Otabek could feel the boulder rolling from his partner's shoulders. "Deal." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is a lot of sads and sniffles in this chapter and an important discussion.   
> How are y'all feeling? How is your day? ♥
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 9:   
> They take Medina to the airport and say their goodbyes. On the way home, Yuri and Otabek discuss children again. They agree on waiting, but figure out that they both want kids, just not right now.

"Please, please, please! Make. Her. Stop!" Yuri was hiding under his pillow and barely looked out. "I don't want her to scream anymore!" 

"She's in heat. You literally wanted kittens, baby. She's doing her best to make her daddy proud." 

"Don't call me that, if anyone—"

"We will not go there." 

Yuri rolled his eyes and glared at Potya. "I'm really trying to sleep here, you monster. I'm having a class early in the morning, but—" 

Once she noticed he was paying attention to her, Potya jumped onto the bed and rubbed against him. 

"Fucking … urgh. Chris has to come over tomorrow. I can't deal with this." Yuri plucked her from his face, but Potya was just running back to him once she was set down. "She has never been that annoying during heat." 

"Yeah, I know. But this time, she can smell Sebastian everywhere." 

Yuri grabbed her beneath the arms and raised her up. "Is that why you keep pissing on every flat and not flat surface, you goddamn monster?!" 

Potya purred, content about the attention. Otabek could have sworn she was smiling, the fucking bitch. He loved the animal very much, but he loved even more not having to clean urine off their walls because Potya kept spraying them. 

He settled next to his husband on the bed. "I want to lock her out so we can sleep, but we both know she'll just ruin the damn doors if we do. I don't see her no longer yelling anytime soon." 

Yuri hummed his agreement and dropped her onto his stomach. Potya curled up, happy with that resting place. "I just wish she wouldn't be so annoying. I didn't raise you to be this desperate, my little princess." 

"Wait, you did not actively teach her to disperse her urine all over the walls? I'm disappointed." 

"I know. I know, I know, I know. I'm a bad cat daddy." He wiggled around, jostling Potya, too. But instead of running away, she rolled over and pawed at Yuri's hand. 

"She still seems to like you." 

"I know. I'm blessed." Yuri smiled and put his finger into her mouth, which she protested by swiping at him and pulling her head away. She looked personally offended. 

Seemingly content with the results of his teasing, Yuri sighed and gave Otabek a good-night-kiss, before they turned off the light. Once it was dark, Otabek looked at the ceiling. It was warm. Too fucking warm to sleep cuddling, which he regretted. Too warm to sleep with a blanket, too, but he missed the comforting weight. He didn't miss Potya kneading his organs, though. 

The next day would be a lot of stress, Otabek was sure of that. Potya had been screaming for her assigned mate for almost two days now, but they wanted to wait for the weekend to make sure the coupling went well. 

Was he ready for kittens? Not at all. Was he ready for human babies? Strangely enough, more so. But the conversation from earlier that week was still fresh in his mind. They agreed to wait. Otabek believed that was the right thing. But now, in the darkness of their bedroom, alone with his thoughts, he realized things wouldn't be so easy. 

He would have to research a lot. Luckily enough, Yuri hadn't had an official gender change. Yet. He was scared of how his parents and  _ especially _ Otabek's parents would react. So at least they wouldn't have to worry about prejudice from the agency when it came to the nature of their relationship. They had been married for quite a while now, too, and Otabek had a stable job with a sufficient income. Yuri was still studying, which could be a problem, but … he didn't want to think about the problems right now. Otabek wanted to think about little feet running down the hallway, about insistent knocks on the bedroom door, demanding breakfast, and having to look under the bed to check for monsters. 

She was only his sister, and more an adult than a child, but having Medina over reminded him of just how much he enjoyed caring for his siblings. And Otabek knew Yuri had seen that. 

Maybe they should look into it more. Not because they were ready, but because it would take quite a while until they figured everything out, and until then, maybe they would be ready, and— 

"Stop this." 

"Hmm?" Why was Yuri awake? He should be asleep by now. 

"I can hear your thoughts running away with you. You're all twitchy and restless. Whatever you're thinking about, stop it." 

Otabek huffed. "I'm not—" 

"Yes, you are. Don't lie to the both of us." 

He huffed again and pouted because Yuri wouldn't be able to tell in the dark. Otabek was a proud man; he wouldn't be caught looking so childish, but right now, he felt safe. 

"You're pouting again, aren't you?" 

"How in God's name—"

"Please don't bring him into our bed, Beka. I'm not going to conceive a child. There's no reason to say his name like that." 

Otabek chuckled and turned to his side. "How do you know me so well?" 

"I'm a third generation wizard." 

"Your mother's or father's side?" 

"Both. They are siblings. It keeps the bloodline clean." 

Otabek spotted the faintest smile on his husband's lips, lightly illuminated by the city. Yuri was gorgeous like this. "You're disgusting. You know that, right?" 

"I'm Russian. We don't have a lot of people on a whole lot of land, you know?" This time, Yuri turned his head, too. There was gentle mockery in his eyes. 

"I hate you. Russia is actually pretty well populated. But … your parents aren't really related, right?" 

"You'll never know unless you ask them." 

"I hate you." 

"But you stopped thinking about whatever was making your head spin in circles. So shut up, give me a kiss that would make my parents uncomfortable, and then sleep." 

A moment's hesitation as Otabek tried to gauge if Yuri was serious. Then he leaned across the distance and locked his lips on his husband's. Their kiss was slow but deep. Mint and Yuri, distinctly. When he pulled back, he was hard. But Otabek wouldn't mention it, not with Potya yelling about the same problem all day. He wouldn't stoop low enough to be a hypocrite to his cat. 

Yuri grinned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he mumbled  _ 'good night, Bekam' _ and turned his head back. 

Otabek sighed. Well, at least that did shift his problems. "Good night, Юрийым." 

\----------

It looked a little bit like dancing, if Otabek was being honest. Sebastian was a little rough with Potya, but apparently, that was normal. 

She had been popping her hind legs for a bit, tail to the side. When Chris finally came over, Potya yelled  _ aggressively _ at him to release her friend. And once Sebastian was out of the carrier, he began to sniff on her butt and circle her. It made Otabek a little uncomfortable, especially because Yuri laughed loudly about the entire situation. 

After only a minute, Sebastian pounced on the admittedly very slutty acting Potya. It was far from her first heat, sure, but Otabek had never seen her behave like that. What followed looked kind of awkward. She was on her tummy, her legs tucked under her belly, ass into the air. He stood over her and stepped from one foot to the other. 

Otabek felt like he shouldn't look at this. It was weirdly intimate, even if it was just their pets. Or maybe because it was. In his mind, it felt like walking in on your child watching porn. Not that he had experience with that. 

Half an hour after he left for the kitchen, Yuri came to look for him. "They are still going at it, in case you were wondering. It's kind of pitiful, but … it's also pretty funny." 

Otabek grunted and downed his tea. "I'm just glad they aren't attacking each other." That had been a concern previously, with how violent and territorial cats could get. But both Potya and Sebastian had shown love and affection once they were released. 

"It's strangely personal." 

"To watch cats fuck?" 

"Don't say it like that." 

"But it's true." Yuri laughed and tilted his head. "What's up, big boy? I thought you grew up around animals?" 

Heat colored his cheeks, so Yuri laughed and climbed onto his lap. "Is it something else that gets you all excited, teddy?" 

Otabek huffed. "They don't make me horny, if that's what you're thinking about." 

"That's what I'm thinking about at least eighty percent of my wakeful hours, but admittedly, never in combination with cats." 

Otabek grinned and grabbed his hips. "You're a slut, Altin." 

"Only for you, Altin." Yuri smirked and kissed him, until noise alerted them to the presence of someone else. 

"Oh. Don't let me bother you. I wanted to check if you guys are okay, but I see you're very busy." Chris gave them a cheeky grin. "Would you rather I leave … or can I watch you instead of those awful cats?" 

Yuri tossed a dish rag after him and Chris went away, laughing loudly. 

\---------- 

"Congratulations, Mrs. Altin!" Yuri gave the vet a strained smile. "Your cat is pregnant!" 

Yuri turned to the animal on the table, now with an actual, heartfelt expression. "Did you hear that? You managed to get knocked up! Sebastian will be so proud!" 

The doctor frowned and looked at Otabek, who shook his head. "Not me. The tomcat. But I'm proud, too." It wasn't really news, but it was good to hear. 

After their mating, Yuri had kept watching Potya with great interest. Around three weeks in, her nipples darkened. She actually struggled with morning sickness for a while, which was ridiculous because it sounded so human. Although, it wasn't ridiculous when she vomited on nearly every set of sheets they owned. But the largest sign had been Potya herself. Literally. Their girl was getting round. 

So four weeks in, they went to an ultrasound appointment. The doctor confirmed what they already expected. 

Otabek flipped his phone around and smiled at the screen. "See? I promised you wouldn't miss it." 

That didn't stop Medina from rolling her eyes. "I know. But I want to see her get chonky." 

"We will take plenty of videos for you. I promise." He quickly said his goodbye, then focused on the other two men in the room. "How many are there?"

"That's hard to tell." The vet frowned. "We can take an x-ray, but only later on. Ultrasounds aren’t exact enough. Or I can palpate her stomach, but it's your decision if you want that." 

Otabek looked at Yuri, unsure what the man meant.

"It's dangerous. Only very experienced people should do it. It can lead to miscarriages and serious injuries to the babies and the queen." The vet nodded along, confirming Yuri's words. He seemed proud. 

"So we … won't know?" 

"We can take an x-ray. Just not today." 

"I see." Otabek turned his head and caught an almost apologetic smile from Yuri. 

"But it's her first litter, correct?" Yuri confirmed and the vet continued. "They are usually small. I wouldn't expect more than four kittens." 

They found that out online, too. It was calming to have it confirmed, though. "Is there anything we should pay attention to in the near future? Other than her overall health?" 

The vet handed Potya to Yuri, who cuddled and praised her, before putting her back in the carrier. " At around six weeks, she should be nesting. You’ll have to see where she feels safe and set up a nice comfortable space to build a home in for her. It's likely where she'll give birth, though it doesn't  _ have _ to be." They both nodded. "Familiarize yourself with the birthing process. Maybe watch videos, even. And make sure you have emergency numbers on hand." That was a given, too, so both confirmed again. "You might need to intervene; for example, the queen could be unable to chew off the umbilical cord. In that case, you'll have to chew it through yourself or cut it with scissors. You’ll also want to have a towel ready to dry the kittens a little. And—" Here he paused to make sure they were paying attention, "it would also be wise to have everything on hand for post birth. 

“I pray for you to have an uncomplicated birth, but there is always the chance of an emergency. In the worst case scenario, the queen could die and you are left with a bunch of kittens without any supplies like kitten milk at hand." 

Yuri swallowed. He was obviously not a fan of that prospect and neither was Otabek, but the vet was right. It was something they would have to be prepared for. "And for the birth process. how do we know it's starting?" 

"There are two options. A c-section and natural birth. If you decide on a c-section, most of the things will be taken care of. All you’ll have to worry about is having anything at home that could be needed post-birth. If you decide on a natural birth, you'll have to watch out for her becoming restless and vocal. She will run around and alert you. You then have to keep an eye on her. If her stomach moves and contacts a lot, you'll know it's happening. Maybe she goes into her nesting place, maybe she goes somewhere else. Maybe she wants you around for it, maybe not. If she doesn't want you close to her, it's vital you find a way to keep watching her without disturbing her because if something goes wrong, you'll want to be able to intervene." 

Yuri nodded. Otabek knew his husband had read up online about all this, so it didn't come to him as a surprise how confident Yuri looked. He curled an arm around him and kissed his temple. 

The vet smiled softly at them. "Do you have children yourself? Plan to have any? I don't want to be intrusive, it's just something one has to take into account." 

They both shook their heads, but Otabek continued. "We plan to, at some point, but this is our main focus right now." 

Appeased, the vet continued with his explanation. Otabek noticed Yuri curling a little more into their hug. "When you reach the point of contractions in the birthing process, you should let mother nature take over. Potya will know instinctively what to do. The first baby will take a while. An hour or two, maybe longer. It's very important to be sure Potya isn't in any pain out of the ordinary, or a second kitten could be stuck in some kind of way. Don't worry, since we have a lot of check-ups, this shouldn't happen. It's just a careful warning to consider it anyway because you never know." 

Otabek hummed and kissed Yuri's head again. He had gone a little stiff next to him, but it was probably just the prospect of complications. Yuri would manage to deal with whatever life threw at him, Otabek was confident. 

"The queen should break the embryonic sac herself, then clean the kitten. At this point, the baby should start to move and make noise. If it doesn't, you'll have to step in. Check the kitten over, stimulate it when necessary, and make sure the airways are clean. I will give you links to tutorials explaining everything in detail so you know what to do." 

That was a relief. Otabek wasn’t sure how to intervene. He’d heard a lot so far, and a bunch of things that could go wrong, but even if he would recognise the signs now, it was helpful to be aware of what to do in those moments. 

"The kitten will then begin to nurse and Potya will settle down. After that, as I mentioned, you'll have to wait for a while. When the second kitten is there, it'll become a quicker process. With enough ease, you won't be able to tell anymore if she is still giving birth. Which is why watching her and making sure everything and everyone is fine is such a big deal." 

"First litters are small though, right?" Yuri looked down at Potya, who was hiding now. She must have been exhausted from the check-up. Otabek couldn't blame her; he would want to sleep in her place, too. 

"Yes. But regardless of how many, once the babies are out, the mother will eat the placentas and chew off the umbilical cords. If everything goes well, she'll then settle down and the babies will feed." 

Okay. Otabek prepared a mental checklist of what to do when and how to intervene. He would have to write it down at some point and watch the videos, but at least he felt far more comfortable now than he had before. 

"Can you give us post-birth information, too, or will we do that at another check-up?" 

The vet looked at his thin wrist, then realised he wasn't wearing a watch and raised his eyes to the clock over the door. He sighed. "My next patient isn't going to be here for a few more minutes I guess, so we can start, but I can't promise we will finish it. Don't worry, we will go through all of it again once it's time, anyway." 

Yuri nodded, but Otabek could see he had a bunch of questions left and would prefer for them to be addressed. 

"Okay. Post-birth. C-sections require different care, but I'll inform you about that if it turns out to be necessary. Let's focus on natural birth, since the chance of a surprising onset is much bigger than with a pre-planned procedure." 

Content with that, Yuri indicated he was listening. Otabek grinned at him. How on Earth was this man cute in every situation?

"Your queen will want a break at some point. She'll need water and food then. It's important here to move the water and food dishes, along with the litter tray, to the nesting area. When she's resting, it's your chance to check everyone over for any signs of injuries. And if you're unsure, never be afraid to call a vet or an emergency number. If everything looks fine, back off and let Potya handle the situation. Just make sure she can actually deal with it. Some queens can be unsure or overwhelmed. They might struggle with feeding the kitten or even exclude one. Since she's not experienced with those things yet, you might have to encourage her or intervene. You should be able to determine their sex right after they are born. If your cat trusts you, she'll allow you to touch the babies right away. On the other hand—and I know it’s hard because I just spoke about all the necessary checking—try to touch them as little as possible or the mother might reject them." 

The door opened and a woman peeked in, her colorful hair falling into her face in multiple wild strands. She looked as if she had a small fight with a cat. Otabek immediately liked her. "I'm sorry to bother you, but your next patient is waiting." 

The vet gave her a curt nod and a small smile, unconventionality soft. Otabek wondered if they shared more than their love for animals. It wasn't his business, but he could see the same question in Yuri's eyes, so his husband wouldn't talk about anything else on the way home, anyway. Except for Potya, of course, but that was a given these days. Before being with Yuri, Otabek had never cared about the little stories of people around him. Not because he was ignorant, but because they simply never played a role in his life. But his husband was observant. And Yuri liked to talk. He wasn't malicious in the way he spoke about others, but Otabek suspected Mila encouraged his fascination with spinning tales. 

It used to be draining to listen to Yuri ramble about those things, but over time, Otabek developed quite a fascination for it. Yuri was a good narrator when he wanted to be. 

They said their goodbyes and made their way back to the car. Otabek was barely sitting when Yuri already began to chat. 

"Okay, so the nurse? You saw that, right?" 

Otabek grinned, tipped his head, then started the car. Yuri wouldn't need more prompting to entertain them both for the entirety of the drive home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a lot of cat facts.   
> How are y'all holding up?   
> Have you ever researched something you'll never need in rl? Because I am allergic to cats.
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 9  
> Potya goes into heat and it's an adventure. Otabek flees from the coupling. Yuri follows, but eventually they have to return. A few weeks later, they learn Potya is pregnant. The doctor gives them all kinds of information on the birth process and the caretaking as well as the post-birth situation.

It was weird to be back. Not that Otabek had been here before, at least not exactly  _ here _ , but the sensation was the same. He sighed and scratched the side of his head. His fingers brushing over the short hair was nice. It helped him relax, which was ridiculous because he wasn't the one getting tested. 

But Yuri had studied so much and worked so hard for this exam. During Otabek's years on campus, he never really paid attention to the art kids. Or he did, because everyone did; they were usually loud and queer and extremely expressive. But he never thought about their schedule.

Otabek watched the clock. He wasn't the only boyfriend anxiously running around the halls of the building, but in his mind, he was the most agitated. 

The doors opened and a young woman walked out. She didn't look much older than eighteen. Her hair was pinned into what Otabek could only describe as an ice cream swirl. She reached for a cigarette almost immediately. 

Otabek hated that habit. Everyone in the arts seemed to smoke. Not just tobacco. He was incredibly grateful Yuri wasn't like everyone else, but whenever his husband brought home a work partner, Otabek wanted to run away from the stench. Potya did. He liked to remember the one time she threw up into one of the guy's shoes. Maybe Otabek was a little extra content with it because he wouldn't stop flirting with Yuri, but so what? Otabek was human, too. 

The door again, a lanky boy in clothes so wide he looked like a kite. Maybe, if he opened his arms … Otabek shook his head. He was going crazy. 

The guy slinked away and before the door fell closed, another boy walked out. Or … a girl? Otabek frowned when he realised he had been assuming everyone's gender based on what he perceived as their sex. Shit. Yuri should have taught him better than that. He sighed and shook his head, mentally correcting himself. Another  _ person _ walked out. They were in a dress Otabek respected a lot because it was the first week of October, and it was fucking cold already. It was a short dress, too. And … were those net stockings, or was a print on them? He turned to follow the person with his gaze, but before Otabek could answer his own questions, he was jerked back around. 

"I'm sitting through the hardest exam of my career, and you're gawking at another dude?" Yuri grinned and wrapped his arms around Otabek. 

"So he is a dude?" 

"Today, yes. Tomorrow, we will see." 

Otabek nodded and leaned down to kiss the smaller man. "I swear, I'm only gawking at one guy." 

"Should I get into a dress for you, too? Would you like that?" 

"Clothes have no gender." 

"Thanks, my dude. No one told me yet." Yuri gave him a cheeky grin, and Otabek grinned back and swung him around lightly. 

"I assume it went well, considering your overall mood and the fact that you're back early?" 

Yuri hummed. "I just stopped giving a fuck. Who cares. Artists starve anyway." 

"That bad?" 

"Nah, I think I crushed it." He giggled and demanded more kisses. 

When someone yelled  _ 'GAY' _ across the hallway, Otabek puffed out his chest, ready to make them spit teeth if necessary, but it turned out to be Chris, who stood to the side with a smoothie. He held out another one for Yuri. 

Otabek deflated a little and grinned. "How long have you been here?" 

"Long enough to watch you pace. And gawk at another boy." 

"RIGHT? He was gawking." 

"I was thinking about his dress. And the tights." 

Yuri raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Sure, teddy. Sure." 

When the door opened again, and a professor glared at them, hissing to be quiet, Yuri took Otabek's hand and Chris' smoothie, then pulled them towards the parking lot. 

"Do you wanna tell me about it?" 

Yuri hummed. "We had to discuss political art and the implications, which can be quite fucking boring. And also scary because what if they ask me something about some historic event I've never heard of? But I totally lucked out about the topic! It was all modern stuff." Yuri gave him a grin wide enough to threaten lesser men. 

"I chose a mural and its role in upholding white supremacy. Recently, the San Francisco Board of Education debated what to do about the mural ‘Life of George Washington’, painted in 1936 by Victor Arnautoff in the stairwell and lobby of George Washington High School." 

That sounded … somehow both less boring and more boring than Otabek imagined. "Did you get to choose the topic yourself?" 

"Kind of. I recently read about it, so I felt like it would be a good statement piece to work into political art. Community members complained about the mural because it depicts a dead Native American. There's also a second native figure holding scalps and several enslaved African Americans. So … the entirety of shit-bingo all in one place. Hero glorification of cruel racist and even more hateful bullshit. The first idea should be to take it down, right?" 

"Right." 

"Wrong. I mean, right, yeah, it's also what the people demanded.  _ But, _ it's not that easy. And I'm not even speaking in favor of people who think we should keep it as 'significant historic artwork'. It provides us with a different concept to the 'holy founding fathers' mythology. It shows what actually happened; slavery, genocide, you know? It is kind of an antidote to the usual propaganda exhibition they do on the founding fathers." 

Otabek blinked. He hadn't considered that perspective. Not that he was a big fan, but he could admit they had a point, somewhere in there. 

"Anyway, after a bunch of hearings, they decided to paint over them in 2019. Two months later, the decision was revised. They went with concealing the mural instead of painting over it. That way they could protect the message and the historical value for the art society, but could hide the propaganda aspect of implied glorification and the constant retraumatizing of their native and black visitors or students." 

Chris smirked. "And you wrote three hours on that? For something they already made a decision on?" 

"Fuck you." Yuri grinned and raised his middle finger. "Mona Lisa has been finished for a  _ while, _ and people still analyze her obsessively. Just because the past happened, doesn't mean you shouldn't reflect on it." 

"Which is the entire point of his paper," Otabek agreed. Yuri fistbumped, and then kissed him, grinning the entire time. He was obviously proud to be with someone who  _ got him _ . 

Chris shook his head, but couldn't hide the little grin of endearment. "You two were made for each other." 

\---------

"And here … you can see Potya." Yuri flipped the camera over and crouched down next to the nesting space. The ragdoll rolled over and presented him her pulsing belly, as if trying to show Medina exactly what was going on. 

"Are you sure it's starting? She looks so … calm." 

Yuri turned and looked at the cat, who immediately began to scream when he focused on his phone again. "See? If she has attention, she's fine. If we turn to look away, she'll yell." 

Medina smiled, the screen pixelating her face enough for Yuri to count the little squares. Their connection was different every day, even within one conversation, but today, it was especially bad. 

Otabek stepped into the frame when he provided their little princess with water and snacks, but he was gone a moment later to get the litter box. 

"I can't believe she waited so long. They almost have to share Otabek's birthday!" 

He grinned. Yuri answered Medina, but Otabek wasn't entirely sure what they said, since he was moving around the apartment. Potya had wasted a large chunk of Yuri's fall break on screaming for affection, yelling at them to hurry up tending to her, and shedding on every fabric she could find. Since she became pregnant, her need for cuddles and attention doubled. Otabek didn't mind, though. It meant she actually wanted to interact with him all of a sudden. 

"Bekam! Don't forget the towel!" 

Right, the towel. He hurried through the rooms until both his princess and king were satisfied. Then, Otabek settled behind Yuri and wrapped his arms around the stolen hoodie. Without thinking about it, he nibbled on Yuri's neck, but Medina's playful scolding quickly stopped him. "Focus on your cat, Beka!" 

"I do." 

"Not the big one, the small one!" 

"Oooooooh!" Otabek slapped his forehead. "THE SMALL ONE!" Medina's giggle was distorted, but what could you expect from a call across the globe? He hooked his chin over Yuri's shoulder and smiled. 

"Ana and äke say they miss you." Otabek's mouth became a tight line. He hadn't seen his parents in person in over ten months, but after last year's drama, he wasn't exactly excited to do so, either. "They want to come over for Christmas. Since the holidays are  _ 'a good time to travel if you don't have to rent a hotel room' _ ." 

Yuri stiffened in his hold. "What do you mean, they don't have to rent a hotel room?" 

Trying to calm him, Otabek nuzzled along his throat. "It's a joke. The holidays are a terrible time to travel. And they need multiple hotel rooms if they bring the girls." 

"That's a terrible joke. It's not funny. At all." 

Otabek nodded and Yuri relaxed. A little. "I guess they already invited themselves, then." 

Shrugging, Medina tilted her head. "Please say yes? I know it's stressful for you. I know! But … I miss you. And the others." 

Staying stoic was hard for Yuri when Medina pleaded with him. "Have you been talking to the guys?" 

"And girls! Mila and Sara text me over Instagram." 

"Shit, you're infiltrating our whole life." Yuri grinned at her and Medina grinned back. Otabek might have heard a  _ 'that's the plan' _ , but he wasn't sure because Potya began to yell again. 

Yuri moved to soothe her, while Otabek was forced to hold the phone. He hated forced conversations, but he loved his sister, so this was fine. 

"Any news on your front? Guys? Girls? Non-binary folks?" 

Medina shook her head. "Mom and dad would kill me." Luckily, in their family, it was just a saying, but there were people out there not joking about things like that. It made Otabek shiver. "Besides, I already told you. I don't get the entire hype. Why do I have to … you know? Put my wet mouth on theirs? Makes no sense." 

"You don't have to." Yuri pressed himself into the frame and gave her a concerned look. "You don't. You are perfect the way you are. You don't need anyone else. Except if that  _ 'anyone' _ is me, of course, but I'm already married to your brother, so I'm afraid our love is forbidden." He tried to offer her some humor with the truth, but Medina only blushed just enough to be noticeable, then looked away. 

"You know what it's like with our parents. I know Beka and you are madly in love, but … your marriage was still somewhat arranged." Otabek frowned. Medina was right, of course she was, but he tended to forget that part of their relationship. There were just so many good memories to overshadow how everything had started, he sometimes caught himself glorifying the entire situation. He nodded, but Medina was already continuing. "And you were only allowed to get married because Yuri was misgendered. We both know they wouldn't support your love, no matter how pure it is, if they learned what's actually going on." 

Bile rose in Otabek's throat. He liked to ignore that knowledge, but his sister was right. Yuri pressed his hand on Otabek's leg, whispering  _ 'I love you' _ . He returned the sentiment, but his chest was hollow. Not because of Yuri, but for Medina. "I would like to see you guys for Christmas. Not because of them. But because of you." 

A smile bloomed over her face. "And ... Can we meet with the others? Can I stay with you guys instead of the hotel?" 

Otabek looked at his husband, but Yuri was already nodding fiercely. "Of course, cutie. We look forward to—ouch!" Potya suddenly began to claw his arm, so they backed off and continued watching her from the sofa instead. "I think it's about to start." Yuri flipped the camera and presented Medina with the distressed cat.

"Do you feel ready to become cat parents?" 

"Holy fuck, yes." 

"Yuri!" Medina still tried to scold him about all the cursing but it was rather half-heartedly. 

"What? We have been ready for weeks. She literally waited forever. I think at this point, I've seen enough videos about cats giving birth that I could open a cat birthing house." 

Otabek kissed his temple. "That's not a thing, baby." 

"It could be!" Yuri was answered with an amused nod. 

Potya interrupted them by getting up and mewling again. But this time—Otabek jumped up. "Holy shit, there's a baby hanging out of her." 

" _ What? _ " Yuri jerked up next to him and Potya startled a little, so they moved slowly instead. 

The cat was stumbling through the nesting area, but it was clear she was giving birth now. There was a little head, Otabek was sure. He tried to film it as best as possible for Medina, who immediately started to pray. 

Eventually, the little blob slid onto the bedding. Potya immediately spun around and began to chew on the sac to free the kitten. Once that was done, she chewed through the umbilical cord, then licked the baby. There was a little blood, but for the most part, it looked painless, which was a relief. 

"It's moving, Beka. The baby is moving." Otabek looked over and found his husband with a hand clasped over his mouth and tears in his eyes. "Look! Potya is a mama now!" 

Otabek nodded and pulled Yuri into a hug. "She is, baby. And she's so proud. Look at her." She was still busy cleaning the kitten, then went ahead and ate the placenta. 

"How many babies can we expect?" Medina looked just as touched, and her voice was small and filled with awe. It made Otabek feel all sorts of things to see both of them so emotional. 

"Three kittens, hopefully." He didn't have to explain the last word was in connection to them being healthy and fit instead of actually existing. The vet had checked already and confirmed the number. 

"I want to touch it so badly." Yuri's hands were buried in his hair, he looked like he wanted to tear his face off. "I know I shouldn't. But I want to!" 

Otabek handed him the phone so he could distract himself. 

He couldn't say how long it was after that. It all blurred into one long, fascinating moment. Giving birth was messy and weird, but it was also full of wonder and beauty. When the third kitten was finally clean, Potya dropped onto her side. She offered her belly to nurse the little ones and purred. The poor thing was obviously exhausted, but Otabek was so proud of her. 

" Юрийым … we should back off a little. Let her rest. Let them nurse." Yuri nodded, but he was obviously still very much out of it. Otabek took the phone from him. " Сау бол," he whispered at Medina. It was almost five in the morning for her, but she insisted on watching. Now, she was falling asleep with the phone in her hand. 

She gave him an exhausted little smile and hung up with a similar farewell. 

Otabek turned to his husband, who still hadn't moved. "жаным?" That name always seemed to work. Yuri blinked, then turned his head to Otabek. He suddenly began to move, crawled over the floor and into his lap. Yuri hid his face against Otabek's neck. "Hey there. Are you okay?" 

Yuri nodded. Soft sniffles fell from him, body shaking lightly. He leaned back, eyes wide, filled with tears and wonder and a glitter Otabek struggled to place. "We are parents now. Cat parents. But we are parents now!" 

A tiny smile and Otabek squeezed him. "I know, махаббатым. I know." 

Yuri smiled.  _ Mahabbatym. My love.  _ He leaned in and gave Otabek a long, slow kiss. "I don't care. That our marriage was arranged, I mean. I don't care. I love you more than my life." 

He rubbed Yuri's back, then kissed him again. For long moments, all they heard was Potya's content purring and the small noises of kittens. Then, Otabek leaned back. "I love you, too. You sap." 

Yuri giggled through the tears, then bit his partner. It was probably meant as a punishment for him joking so cruelly, but Otabek held Yuri's head closer to his neck instead and moaned quietly. And never one to back down from a challenge or a task or even just something that could be considered competitive, Yuri continued to bite and lick his neck, the ferocity increasing. "What, teddy? Does looking at pussycats get you horny?" 

Otabek groaned but not in pleasure this time. "I want a divorce." 

"No you don't." 

"No I don't." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cat babies!   
> I know a lot of you looked forward to this so I hope it made you happy to see the little monsters are finally here!
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 11   
> Otabek brings Yuri home from his last exam for the semester and they talk about art for a while. Finally, the cat babies are born. Medina joins them through a video call. Everything goes well, they end up with three mini Potyas.

Otabek had despised his birthday for most of his life. Just because with so many people, it always felt forced. Especially as the eldest. All the younger kids got more attention. But he didn't even mind that; Otabek was a big fan of not being in the spotlight. In America, though, when his birthday aligned with Halloween, everything was different. And with Yuri around, it was actually different in a good way. 

Since they had kittens around that were only a few days old, they decided not to focus on a party. Instead, their little group of friends came over for a quiet night. 

"So, where are my grandkids?" Chris had barely taken off his shoes when he was already on his way to the living room. 

Chuckling, Yuri followed him. "They are in the bedroom, so they can actually sleep and relax. We will show them to you, but all at once, so they aren't constantly stressed." 

"What did you name them?" Phichit actually took off his wet jacket so he wouldn't drip everywhere. Now that Chris knew the kittens were out of reach, he followed through. 

"Axel, Lutz, and Loop." 

"What kind of dumb names are those?!" Mila hollered from the living room. "I re-thought my idea, please never have kids if this is how you want to name them!" 

Yuri rolled his eyes. Finally, Otabek spoke, too. "Yuri thought it would be funny to name them after figure skating jumps. Because I used to skate as a child, and he never stopped mocking me for that." 

Silence, then Mila's witchy cackle. "YOU FIGURE SKATED? You know what? I'm taking my last statement back. Yuri, you are GREAT at naming things, and I'll let you name my babies, too!" 

"Promise?" They re-entered the living room, Yuri donning an almost threatening smirk.

"Nah. Hey, babies!" Chris and Phichit made their way around, greeting everyone with a smile. Yuri used the moment to take control of their sound system and began to play rock music, low enough to be barely audible. He was a great cat dad. 

"So how come we aren’t going out?" Leo fist-bumped Chris and waved at Phichit. Guang Hong next to him groaned and Mila snickered. 

"They have cat babies! How did you forget that? They told us, like, five days ago!" Guang Hong was sporting a classic suit, his face painted in black and white. He told them he was an old-time mafia boss and Leo was his accomplice, even though his costume looked a lot more like a last-minute attempt. 

People quickly stopped joking about the topic when Yuri gave them a thin smile and leaned back, very busy with his cocktail. It was Mila who eventually felt the need to point out that Yuri came from a lot of Russian money. His smile got a little more pinched, though not unfriendly, and he whispered  _ 'oh, thanks. I didn't notice.'  _

That was the end of any mafia discussion. 

Mila herself was in a big, fancy peacock costume that barely allowed her to sit down, even when she took the feathers off. Sara wore a cute flapper dress and spent the night on Mila's lap whenever possible. 

Minami was wearing traditional Japanese garments and explained to everyone he was a ninja now. Otabek thought it was endearing. For a while, he wondered why Phichit and Chris were without costumes, but then the two disappeared into their bathroom. Twenty minutes later, a deranged looking Phichit exited—still bare-faced, but without a shirt and open pants. 

"Are you serious?!" Yuri looked as if he was caught between confusion, astonishment, and disgust. Phichit grinned apologetically and snatched the little tote bag at the door, before he hurried back. "IF I HAVE TO CLEAN THE TOILET BECAUSE YOU IDIOTS GOT A CONDOM STUCK—" The door was closed before Yuri could finish yelling. 

Another thirty minutes and Phichit was in a full werewolf suit. Chris was dressed as a vampire. It was kind of impressive how good they looked together. 

Otabek himself was in a Peter Pan costume Yuri had forced on him, mostly because he wanted to be Tinkerbell. When his husband first chose a female character, Otabek was surprised, but Yuri had thrown his arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. "A genderless mess, but like—" 

Otabek grinned and tightened his hold. "—with a dick. I know." Yuri smirked, quite happy with that answer. 

"I told you, looking feminine is a costume to me. Why not make it officially a costume?" 

To Otabek, it sounded confusing, but if that was what Yuri wanted, he would go along with it every day of the week. 

Mila had, once she saw him, immediately suggested Yuri was actually only taking one for the team with his costume because he wanted to see Otabek in tights. Yuri grinned and sipped his cocktail, but he scooted a little closer just a moment later. 

"I'm going to rip those off you later. Just so you know. And then I'm going to make you fly, Peter. And make sure you Neverland." He leaned over to bite Otabek's shoulder, who shuddered with a whimper. 

"Whatever Yura said, I want some of that, too." Chris grinned and made sure his cape wouldn't get stuck and ripped off when he sat down. 

"I'm pretty sure you got enough of your own." Yuri gestured at Phichit, but the latter just shrugged. 

"What? No dumb comment?" That was a surprise, usually neither of them were shy when it came to their  _ arrangement _ . Phichit shrugged again, and Chris leaned back into the sofa and away from the conversation. Otabek swallowed. Oh shit. Yuri seemed to have the same reaction, but he tried to hide it behind humor. "What? You two are acting shy now? A minute after banging in our—" 

"We didn't bang." Chris stretched his spine, then crossed his arms. "Phichit helped me with my costume, then I helped with his. Trust me, if we had fucked around, you'd have known." 

Phichit blushed, maybe for the first time in his life, and looked away. What the fuck was going on? Otabek struggled to close his mouth. Thank God Mila was nosy as hell. "Trouble in paradise?" And this time it was obvious because Phichit huffed and actively turned his back to Chris, who just looked more stubborn every second. 

The atmosphere was terrible. Otabek's spine tingled, and he instinctively tightened his hold on Yuri. Whatever was brewing between the two men was so obviously not good, Otabek wanted to scream. 

For a bit, there was silence. Then, Chris leaned forward. "Come on. It's your birthday! Drink up!" He gave Otabek a strained smile, who returned the expression and grabbed a glass. 

"Only if you drink with me!" That got some life into the group. 

\----------- 

"And here," Yuri raised the blanket the kittens had cuddled under a little, "are Loop, Lutz and Axel." 

Mila cooed, Chris desperately wanted to touch but was held back by Otabek's hand on his shoulder, and Phichit took photos. "They are adorable! Look at their tiny, closed eyes!" 

Yuri smiled and sat down next to the cat bed. "Yeah. It takes a couple of weeks of rest and feeding, but eventually, they will open their eyes and go explore the world. I'm excited  _ and  _ afraid. After new year's, they will be checked again. Then they'll get their vaccines and a microchip." 

"How's Potya dealing with the stress? Does she feed them properly?" Chris settled next to Yuri and smiled at the bundle of babies.

Tipping his head, Yuri moved to give Chris better access. "Yeah. She's a great momma. And only a few more weeks of feeding, after five weeks they should start eating solid food after all." 

"Has Potya changed? I read that the character of the queen might change."

"She's a little more … cuddly, I guess. Doesn't like to be alone with the kittens. And she's even more of an attention whore." Yuri smiled at his pet, then caressed her head. She purred immediately and loudly. 

"Well, good thing she didn't turn out more aggressive then." 

Otabek nodded and sat on the bed. Chris and Yuri kept chatting about the kittens while everyone else filtered in and out to look at the newest family members. Once the room was empty, he realized Chris was lingering. Oh. Otabek kissed Yuri's cheek. "I'll go and make sure the party is still a party. Why don't you spend more time with the babies? I'm sure Potya appreciates the company."  _ And Chris.  _

Yuri nodded gratefully, as did Chris. With a quick kiss, Otabek turned around and headed back to the living room. He'd better hear the entire story later. 

\---------- 

It was well past midnight. Actually, it was closer to three in the morning, when they finally managed to sort themselves out. 

Leo and Ji in the guest bedroom. Minami and Phichit on the sofa. Chris on an air mattress. Mila and Sara passed out on the floor. Yuri tried to get them to be reasonable and take the sofa, mostly to alleviate the weirdness between Phichit and Minami with Chris  _ right there _ , but the girls insisted on staying where they were. Maybe the expensive Russian vodka from the birthday parcel of Yuri's parents played a role. 

Otabek sunk into the mattress. "We should offer them our bed." 

"No way. I'm not riding you on the goddamn floor, thank you very much. I've had enough carpet burn to last me a lifetime." 

"It's the middle of the night. Are you sure you want to fuck?" Otabek blinked at his husband, exhausted by the idea alone. 

"I'm one hundred percent sure. I'm wearing a dress that you can push up, you are wearing tights that make me salivate, and—maybe my most important argument—I've been sitting on a plug for an hour, and my underwear is so soaked, I was scared it would discolor my dress. Yes. Yes, I'm sure  _ 'I want to fuck' _ ." 

Otabek gaped at him, not moving, so Yuri pushed him back and onto the mattress. "Don't worry if you're tired, teddy. I'll take care of you." Yuri grinned and leaned down, capturing his lips in a sweet kiss. At the same time, Yuri's hips rolled over Otabek, grinding on him. With a movement too quick to see, but very audible, Yuri leaned forward and ripped open his own tights down the middle seam. Within seconds, he positioned the lube next to them and scooted back to trace his hand over Otabek's hard dick. "So, birthday boy. May I give you another gift?" Unable to control the reaction, Otabek twitched in Yuri's hands. It made him grin even wider. "Eager much, baby?" Yuri trailed his hand up and down, applying a little more pressure. "Just tell me you want it." Otabek nodded, unable to speak with Yuri pressing all the right buttons. "Yeah? How do you want me, teddy? I'm ready for you. However you like." 

Yuri reached into the tights and touched him without any barrier between them. It had Otabek groaning quietly. 

"There, there. You don't want to startle our guests, do you?" Yuri gave him an almost cruel smile and pulled the tights down as best as he could, exposing Otabek. 

The man whimpered softly. Yuri knew exactly what he was doing to his husband. And it was hard to speak with those experienced hands on him. After all those months and the frequent touches they shared, Yuri fluently spoke ‘Otabek’. 

"Do you wanna fuck me? Do you want me to fuck you? Would you like a blowjob? A show?" 

Yuri's words were sexy, but without any doubt, the hottest thing was his confidence. Otabek touched his sides, his hips, his ass. "You already ripped the pants … and …" one of his hands dipped lower, tracing over the metal he found between Yuri's cheeks. "You've been wearing this for me, haven't you?" 

A hum and Yuri worked his hips down. "Can I get the strap, anyway?"

Otabek nodded. It would give him time to properly undress. Yuri crawled off him and walked around the bed, pulling the harness over his ruptured tights. He could have taken them off now, but apparently, fucking while half-clothed seemed to interest him. Good for Otabek, he liked the idea, too. 

He already had himself in hand, stroking up and down with a generous amount of lube leaking out between his fingers. It was a mess, but Yuri grinned at him, so Otabek grinned, too. They both won. 

"Should I take you for a ride, my beautiful dark horse?" 

Otabek rolled his eyes and pulled Yuri into an embrace. "How about me fucking you over the dresser? And I get to push that pretty little skirt up? Like you wanted me to?" 

Yuri twitched in his grasp, bit his lip, and nodded. "But you'll have to gag me. Or I'm going to be too loud. I'm sorry, but I just know I won’t—" 

He was silenced by a fierce kiss, before Otabek locked Yuri's legs around his own hips, grabbed his ass, and lifted him off the bed. The few steps to the dresser were done quickly. Even suspended, Yuri was working his hips against Otabek, mumbling naughty little things into his ear. Some of them were Russian, some Kazakh. The latter ones shook Otabek especially. 

"Please tell me you didn't ask Medina for those." 

Yuri shrugged and grinned when his ass was planted on the dresser, before he slid off and turned around, just to put his upper body down again. He spread his legs, smirking excitedly. "Well, then I'm not saying it." 

"Really?!" 

"It's your birthday. And stop yelling, you'll wake the guests?" Yuri's smirk grew as he wiggled his ass. "She offered." 

"Somehow I struggle to believe that." 

"Then don't. But fuck me, anyway." Yuri got whiny, which was a good sign. It meant he was really,  _ really _ into it. After he struggled many years to find pleasure in sexuality, he was doing his utmost best to catch up now. 

Otabek readjusted them a little so they were both comfortable. He tore Yuri's tights open a little further and the shudder he received proved what he suspected earlier—Yuri was into it as a concept, not just for convenience. 

Which made things a little more easy and a lot sexier. Otabek began to knead Yuri's cheeks, sometimes adding little spanks. His husband groaned, doing his best to stay quiet, but failing from time to time. Yuri spread his legs further on instinct, and Otabek's hand fell between them. He rubbed a finger over Yuri's entrance, then took his dick in hand and slid that along the crease. Half of it disappeared beneath the tights and even though he wasn't being penetrated, Yuri groaned. 

"You're into that, aren't you? My little filthy boy?" A whimper, and his hips shot back, trapping Otabek further under the martial. Yuri's dull nails were clawing at the dresser. 

"Just put it in …" His demand was a thinly veiled plea.

Otabek grinned. "But it's my birthday." His words were accompanied by him moving back and forth, back and forth, covering Yuri in lube that should have gone elsewhere but felt so good  _ there,  _ too. Otabek squeezed his cheeks together, moved a little quicker. Yuri was panting, even if he was barely stimulated. His dampness was covering Otabek's balls. It was lewd in a way he hadn't expected, and yes, Yuri was right; it was the perfect gift. "Maybe I shouldn't put it in at all, if you're already so desperate?" Yuri futilely tried to thrust his hips back and onto Otabek. "There, there, baby. Careful. You don't want to be impaled, do you?" A whine, more wetness where their bodies met. 

Interesting. He pulled Yuri's skirt down, mostly to see what he would do. Otabek received a pouty look over Yuri's shoulder and some insistent, quick back and forth wiggling. "Just fuck me already!" Even hissed, desperation bled into Yuri's voice. 

Another light spank and this time, Yuri's moan was bordering on pornographic. It was a side he hadn't shown much so far, but that made it all the more sexy. Yuri writhed, obviously not actually trying to get free. "Beka … fuck me …" He sounded whinier than most kids, and oh god, that tone together with the pout was lethal. 

Otabek pulled out the plug with swift, experienced fingers, then massaged the inviting entrance. Yuri clenched, trying to suck him in. That's when he had to withdraw, but only to go and grab the lube. Yuri wasn't okay with the sudden coldness between his legs, and he made sure to complain sufficiently. 

It earned him another spank, but Yuri didn't seem to be put off by the punishment. At all. Instead, a sliver of bliss flashed in his eyes. A silent demand for more. So Otabek gave him more. 

He stepped between Yuri's legs again, spreading him open, and let lube drizzle onto him from higher above than strictly necessary. Otabek was a very orderly person, why the sudden messiness appealed to him was anyone's guess. 

Just to make sure Yuri was ready, he worked his fingers in first, two, then three. At this point, Yuri was probably pretty clearly audible, but Mila and Sara were sleeping, Chris and Phichit enjoyed listening, as they had explicitly stated in a previous conversation, and Minami … Minami was trapped. Well. 

Otabek pulled back, then leaned forward to press a kiss on Yuri's back. It earned him a hiss and a very insistent hip thrust. "Beka! Now!"

And from one moment to the next, Otabek was engulfed by a welcoming warmth and the distinct sound of skin slapping. It was almost too much, just sliding into him, with all that teasing. Seeing Yuri in those tights all night, watching him rip them open and present himself, and now fucking him while he was still in the garment … it was a fantasy. Otabek never liked Wendy or even Tinkerbell, it had always been Peter. But maybe, after tonight, he would have to reconsider. 

He tried to still himself, mostly to draw this out for the both of them, but by the way Yuri pressed back into him, it became clear that that wouldn't happen. 

"Beka … fuck. Beka." Hands on Yuri's hips, the pace picked up again. If they both would fall within minutes, they would at least do it together. 

Maybe, with someone else, not lasting his ten minutes would be embarrassing. But with Yuri? Yuri understood. Yuri appreciated. Yuri would simply make him go again in half an hour. 

Breathing picking up, both worked their bodies into each other with frenzied haste, trying to get the last bit of excitement from the experience while at the same time, keeping it within their room. 

Otabek reached around and began stroking Yuri's cock, a sign he would be done soon, so Yuri activated the inbuilt vibe. He was too loud, Otabek knew, but it was  _ so fucking hot _ . A few more thrusts. Yuri was already twitching and shuddering on top of the dresser, falling from one orgasm into the next almost seamlessly, as Otabek finally pulled back. 

His brain told him to drive in as deep as he could, to leave his seed where no one and nothing could reach, but … he leaned back until only his tip was sheathed and stroke himself to completion with tiny thrusts and rough hands. 

When he came, Otabek struggled not to cry out himself. Yuri was twitching and contracting around him, milking him without meaning to. When he eventually retracted, Otabek could see the fruit of his labor running down Yuri's entrance, mixing with the wetness underneath. He was so fucking beautiful. 

Otabek leaned back the slightest bit to allow his husband to move. Then, Yuri scrambled up to his elbows and gave him a dopey smile over his shoulder. "Did I promise too much when I said I'd make you fly, Peter?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only three more chapters of omgtwh2!   
> Part three is currently being written and will be published right after.   
> If you don't want to miss it, subscribe to me as an author! ♥
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12 Recap:   
> It's Halloween! It's also Otabek's birthday. They have a party, but the atmosphere between Phichit and Chris is a little weird. Chris talks to Yuri, but Otabek waits for information. He's gifted something else—a round of naughty birthday sex.

"So. What  _ the fuck _ is going on with them?" Otabek rarely cursed, so Yuri looked almost a little startled when he heard the sentence spat out, especially with so much vigor. 

"Who?" 

"Phichit and Chris, obviously." Otabek rolled his eyes and settled on the sofa, newly vacant now that all their guests had left. 

"Oooooooh." Yuri climbed onto his lap, straddling him. "Well, Chris told me a little about it yesterday—" 

"—Which is why I'm asking—" 

"—Which is why you're asking, and … apparently they  _ struggle _ with something?" 

Otabek raised his eyebrows. "I'm so glad you had a heart-to-heart for that, how else would we have known?" 

Yuri smacked his chest and grinned. "Idiot. It's something about Phichit's boyfriend." Nodding slowly, Otabek tried to encourage Yuri. "Chris and him apparently got into a fight." 

"A fight?"

"That's all he told me. And now Phichit is angry with him, and they talk but they don't  _ talk _ talk, so—" 

Otabek's phone rang, Medina's name on the display. He picked it up from the coffee table. "Hey sunsh—" 

"HAPPY NOT BIRTHDAY!" She almost screamed into the microphone. "Didn you had a good party? I wanted to talk to you alone … but ...." 

"Ana and äke." His family had called the day before to congratulate. "They are in bed now and you have time?" 

Medina chuckled. "Yeah … So I wanted to check on you ..." 

Otabek smiled and cradled the phone close. "We miss you." 

The voice thousands of miles and kilometers away sighed. "I miss you, too. I just want to spend time with you again. And the kittens. And the gang." 

"Soon." Yuri smiled at the phone, even though Medina couldn't see it. "It's almost Christmas." 

She huffed and rustled around for a bit, then settled again. "How is everyone? Am I interrupting?" 

"No. We were just talking about the party. Chris and Phichit were a little weird around each other." Otabek knew Medina was close to them, so the news probably interested her most. 

"I mean …" a short break, then she continued, "after what happened …" 

Otabek was flabbergasted. Medina knew more? More than them? He was about to ask precisely that, but Yuri snatched the phone away, sitting up ramrod straight. To Otabek's surprise, his voice still sounded completely relaxed. 

"Right? I can't believe it."

Frowning, Otabek mouthed  _ 'I thought you don't know?',  _ but Yuri waved him off. 

From the other end came an obviously relieved inhale. "Oh, Allah. I'm so glad I can talk to you about this." Medina's voice was gone, replaced with the loud thud of her falling into bed. 

"Shouldn't you sleep soo—ow!" Yuri had pinched and twisted his nipple, giving him an angry look. Otabek shut up and leaned back, instead holding Yuri's hips. 

"I should," Medina whined, "but I wanted to talk about this for almost a week!" 

Wow, it had been going on for a  _ week _ ? 

"Me, too, honey." Yuri sounded completely convincing and Otabek was shocked. "Tell me what's on your mind about it?" 

"Well,  _ first of all— _ " she interrupted herself for a drink, "why is Phichit's boyfriend such an  _ ass _ ?" 

"I know, right?!" Opening a doc on his phone, Yuri wrote down  _ 'Phichit's boyfriend = ass'.  _ Otabek raised his eyebrows. "Can you believe what he said?" 

"I CAN NOT." Medina giggled and Yuri moved the cursor expectantly into the next line. "Like, Chris said they don't get along well multiple times, but  _ wow _ . I understand why he snapped." 

Yuri was frantically typing  _ 'Chris ≠ boyfriend, snapped' _ , while he somehow managed to continue talking smoothly. "I know! He said it really stressed him out!" 

Otabek mouthed  _ 'Really?' _ at his husband, but Yuri only shrugged. 

"I mean, that's putting it mildly, yes," Medina agreed, and Otabek couldn't believe whatever game Yuri was playing was working out. "But Seung-Gil and him …" 

_ 'SEUNG-GIL' _ appeared in the doc. Meanwhile, Yuri finished the sentence. "... Never got along well with each other, we been knew." 

Otabek frowned. No. They hadn't  _ 'been knew'.  _ Around them, Phichit and Chris always acted happy. Yuri noticed his tightly drawn brows and pointed at  _ 'Chris ≠ boyfriend, snapped' _ . Huh. 

"Exactly." Medina sounded as if she had known the couple for years, not months. On the other hand, she had a name for Phichit's boyfriend. 

Yuri tapped his lip, looking intently on his notes. "So we agree that Seung-Gil is at fault here?" Otabek raised his palm. What? At fault for what exactly? Yuri waved him away again. 

"Most definitely. I can't believe he called Chris a … I'm not repeating that." 

_ 'Called Chris names' _

"You don't have to. I know your God doesn't agree with those words." How did Yuri do that? 

"Yes. Thank you. But … it's cruel, isn't it? Just because he's aromantic! That doesn't turn him into …" Medina sighed. 

_ 'Sexuality related' _ Otabek watched the words appear, but had no idea how Yuri even understood that much. She hadn't really said anything? 

"Yeah. Shaming someone is never okay." Yuri swallowed, waiting for a reaction, but Medina stayed silent, so he continued. "I'm just … surprised by Phichit's reaction." 

" _ THANK YOU _ . I thought I'm the only one!" Otabek watched  _ 'Phichit weird' _ being typed, while his sister continued on. "I mean, I didn't expect him to outright defend his lover against his boyfriend, but  _ siding _ with the guy saying stuff like that?" 

_ 'Phichit → Seunggil" _

"That's rough. Chris looked really done yesterday." 

"I wonder if he  _ has _ feelings for Phichit." 

"But he's aromantic." 

"He can still have feelings for him, just not romantic ones. Or he just says he's aromantic because maybe he thinks it'll keep him from getting hurt?" Yuri's fingers flew over the keyboard. He missed saying something, but luckily, Medina simply continued. "I've seen how he looks at Phichit. And I heard how he talks about him. I don't think he minds sharing him. But since he thinks Seung-Gil doesn't really love him and just plays with him …" 

Yuri's fingers stilled, he leaned up a bit. "I can imagine it's hard being close to someone when you think they aren't being treated the way they should be. Especially when the guy in questions calls you out for your sexuality and  _ then _ the dude you care about sides with him." 

"I'm  _ so _ happy you knew about this, Yuri. Chris would have torn my head off if he learned I was babbling. But I needed to talk about this." 

Otabek swallowed and looked at the list beneath Yuri's thumb. It looked grim. Suddenly, it was very much clear why they didn't want to share the sofa. "Chris is lucky to have a friend like you,  айналайын ." 

He could hear Medina's smile in her voice when she said  _ 'likewise' _ . And while his sister got ready for bed, telling Yuri and him about her day, Otabek kept staring at the list on Yuri's phone. Why hadn't Chris told them? Why Medina, but not them? And were they bad friends for finding a way to learn more about it, anyway? 

Yuri eventually hung up and looked down, too. "Holy shit. Imagine being the side chick, and the main chick treats your dude like shit, so you call him out and he just calls you something sexist and your dude sides with him." 

Otabek blinked. "What?" 

Rolling his eyes, Yuri sighed and turned his phone off. "Do you think we should get involved?" 

"Probably not?" Otabek pursed his lips. "They were still calm around each other. We will see. But I guess we already inserted ourselves enough."

Yuri nodded thoughtfully and turned again to rest his head on Otabek's shoulder. "I just want everyone to be kind to each other." 

With a soft chuckled, Otabek rubbed his back. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?" 

\--------- 

"On a scale of one to ten," Otabek leaned over the sofa, kissing Yuri's neck, "how much do you hate my parents for coming over again?" 

Yuri huffed and rolled his eyes. "Eleven." He was gently checking one of the kittens. "Four-hundred-fifty grams." Otabek dutifully wrote the number down. "Ears upright, eyes blue, and—" 

"Canines and incisors there?" Yuri confirmed. "Great. That's the milestone for a four-week-old." Yuri gently set him down and Axel tumbled back to Potya. They were beginning to explore the world now, one tiny step at a time, and played actively. 

The kittens were starting to eat cat food mixed with formula and slowly learned to use a litter pan. Yuri was as in love as on the first day. Otabek loved them more. He picked up Lutz to check him over, when Yuri asked, "Why?" 

"Nothing. Just … I don't know. It's not a secret you don't get along with them too well." 

Yuri snorted. "Lutz looks as good as Axel." He picked up the third kitten. "I don't have to spend all my time with them. And at least at this point, they kind of gave up trying to get me to change." With great care, he checked Loop's little toe beans. It was a nervous habit, Otabek knew. "They accepted that they made a mistake when they forced you to marry me, and I'm grateful every day. Not for them thinking it's a mistake, of course, but for my husband." 

Otabek grinned and kissed his shoulder, taking Loop from Yuri and setting her down. "I don't think they gave up on you. They probably just accepted I wouldn't date a muslimah." 

"So, they gave up on  _ you. _ " Yuri smirked and leaned back, watching the kittens stumble away and over to Potya. 

"Yeah. Looks like it." Otabek was quite content with that. He hadn't asked for their judgement, but they had been generous with it, nonetheless. Now, he was free. He leaned into Yuri's space now that his hands were unoccupied and began to nuzzle his neck, when Yuri's phone rang. 

"Shit, that's my parents." Morning in America meant late afternoon in Russia. Yuri pulled his phone out and held it up, activating the camera. He didn't wait for Otabek to move off of him. So once the call connected, Yuri's parents were treated to them both on the couch, cuddled close. 

Alexander cleared his throat. He looked … happy? Otabek retreated. Yeah. There was definitely a grin in the corner of his mouth. "Did we interrupt anything?" 

Yuri smirked. "Nah. When you're still young, you sometimes cuddle, even without planning to go further." 

Otabek had full-on planned to go further.  _ But,  _ that wasn't what grabbed his attention. It was the way Yuri spoke to his father. Joking. Warm. Open. Otabek hadn't heard him speak to his family like that in … ever, if he was honest. And the surprises kept coming because Yuri's father laughed. 

"I wouldn't know. I wouldn't know. But I'm glad you're happy, Yurochka." Yuri beamed. Otabek watched his face melt into the smile on screen and it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. 

"Thank you, papa." Yuri sounded so … delighted. He was radiant, so Otabek couldn't reasonably keep his hands off him. One of his arms snuck around Yuri's waist and pulled him closer, making Alexander laugh more. 

"It's good to see you kids so happy. What are you up to?" While Yuri began to describe the weekend ahead, Ekaterina walked into the view. She waved at them, smiling calmly. Next to Alexander, she was almost invisible, even though they shared the same amount of space on their screen. 

Otabek wondered when he had last seen them, really seen them, and realised it must have been forever. During the wedding. Without him asking for any of this, an idea formed in his mind, and once the conversation opened up a little, he saw his chance. Otabek leaned forward and smiled at his in-laws. "My parents are coming over for Christmas, since they don't celebrate. How … about you?" 

Alexander gasped softly, eyes flitting to Yuri. "We don't celebrate Christmas either." 

A hand snaked into Otabek's lap where it was off-screen and drove angry nails into Otabek's leg. But he was in too deep now, and the Yuri on screen was still smiling, so he wasn't even sure if the nails meant what Otabek thought they meant. Deciding it was probably a communication issue, he continued on. "And would you like to come over? You haven't visited us in America yet, and Potya had babies. I bet you'd like to see!" 

Ekaterina suddenly became animated for the first time since the beginning of the call and nodded, clutching Alexander's arm. He turned to her and nodded, too. Then they refocused on Yuri and Otabek again. 

"Of course. We would love to come. We always thought you didn’t want us around, but … if we are welcome?" He sounded almost timid. 

Yuri pinched him harder, and  _ alright _ , the nails did mean something, but Otabek was in too deep now. "We would love to see you." 

Alexander nodded again, now at them. "We will book the tickets. Right now? Right now. Just … I wanna make sure it works out. Don't worry, we will go to a hotel and everything!" His wife was already on an iPad, googling. Yuri's grip turned even more painful. Otabek could suddenly see the strain on his smile now. Oh god, he was fucked. "You know what? We will plan a proper trip! I can't wait to see my little girl! And how the two of you live! The  _ five  _ of you! Maybe six, soon, after practising with the kittens now, right?" 

Otabek was cold. Right. Fucking right. Alexander and Ekaterina were more lively and enthusiastic. But they were just as conservative as Otabek's parents. He gave them a tight nod, and the Plisetskys hung up with two twin waves, already distracted with the planning of a trip. 

Once the phone screen went blank, Yuri turned his head towards Otabek. Slowly. Like a ventriloquist's puppet. Oh god, he was in a horror movie now. "The fuck did you just do?!" His voice was cold, calm, measured. The smile was still in place, giving Yuri the aura of a siren. Beautiful but deadly. 

"I … uhhh … I asked my in-laws to visit us? For Christmas?" Otabek felt like a puppy being scolded. He hoped his wide eyes looked just as cute, but the chances were slim. "Since I thought—" 

"Maybe you shouldn't  _ think _ then!" Yuri's smile was even wider now, dripping with venom, dangerous to the eye and heart. Otabek flinched, moving away from him. 

"What? You seemed to get along just fine! And my family is coming over, too, and—" 

"And what I  _ really _ need during the one week of winter we could have spent together in peace is  _ both of our fucking families double-teaming me about when I'm going to POP YOUR FUCKING OFFSPRING OUT!"  _ The smile was gone now, but Otabek wasn't sure this was better. Yuri was steaming red. He had jumped to his feet when his hiss crescendoed into a yell. "DID YOU LOSE YOUR FUCKING  _ MIND _ , ALTIN?" 

"Maybe it won't be so—" 

"If you say  _ 'bad' _ , I'm divorcing you." Otabek snapped his mouth shut. Yuri huffed and turned around. "You're sleeping on the fucking sofa tonight!" 

"Because I thought you might want to spend some time with your family?" 

Yuri whirled around, glaring at him. " _ NO!  _ BECAUSE YOU INVITED THEM WITHOUT ASKING ME FIRST! YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER PERSON THINKING YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR ME!" 

He was gone, the bedroom door slammed and locked so loud, Otabek's ears were still ringing before he could form a single clear thought. Apparently he had learned nothing. He put his head into his hands, tucked between his knees, when he heard the lock clicking open again. Otabek glanced up, hopeful, but all he saw before the door clicked again was Yuri tossing out a gym bag.  _ Clothes for the morning _ . Otabek wondered if his husband was aware it was 10 in the morning and that he wouldn't go to work on either a Saturday nor a Sunday, but on the other hand, he knew Yuri well enough by now. 

He'd stay in there all weekend if he felt like it was the right thing to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so ... what is going on with Phichit and Chris? A lot of you seem worried, and ... apparently rightfully so?   
> On top of that, Otabek invited his parents-in-law for Christmas and Yuri was NOT amused.   
> Who do you think is right, and why?
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary Chaper 14: Trouble between Phichit and Chris, Medina tells Yuri and Otabek what she knows. Apparently, it's about Phichit's boyfriend being mean to Chris.  
> Also, Otabek invited the Plisetskys for Christmas. Yuri isn't as endeared. He locks Otabek out for the night, but it's only Saturday morning.

The door unlocked two hours later. Yuri stumbled out, red eyed, blotchy, his hair a mess. He glared at Otabek. "You're supposed to console me, you know?" 

"You didn't exactly look like you wanted me anywhere near you." 

"I didn't. But it would have been nice to feel like you cared." 

"I care. That's why I gave you space." Yuri kicked an invisible pebble with his socked foot. Only now did Otabek realise that he was completely bundled up. It was the first week of November, sure, but their apartment was warm. "Are you going to leave?" 

Yuri's head snapped up, eyes wide and filled with terror. His voice was tiny all of a sudden, so unlike it had been earlier when he yelled. "Do you want me to?" 

Acid bubbled in Otabek's stomach. "Why would I want that? No. Of course not!" 

His husband crumbled into himself, melting into a puddle on the floor as he sobbed anew. Yuri curled into a tiny ball and Otabek was unsure. Should he comfort him or respect his wish for distance? 

For a while, no one spoke. Sobs turned into sniffles and then into hisses when the kittens decided to investigate and were now trying to climb on Yuri. Otabek stood to pluck them off, but once he got close enough, Yuri's arms shot forward, locking around his ankle. He held on, face a mask of anger and stubborness. 

"You married me. You don't get to leave me." Otabek sighed and settled down. Why was Yuri talking about leaving him? All he wanted was to make him happy. 

"I could never leave you." 

"Damn right." Yuri glared up at him. Otabek wasn't dumb enough to remark on it, but he looked almost cute."I'll poison your fucking shashlik before I let you go." 

He grinned and gently pulled Yuri closer, until he was half on Otabek's lap. "I love you,  жаным. I would never leave you. Where do you get those terrible ideas?" 

Yuri sniffled again, but his eyes were hard. "I'm damaged goods."

Otabek shook his head and picked up Yuri's hand. "Your cuticles don't define you. I'll take you to the nail salon if you hate them so much." It earned him a punch, but Yuri also struggled to hide his smile. "I can't imagine anything else on you that could be considered damaged goods." He kissed Yuri's hand and dropped it again. 

"You know it will be about kids again." 

"So what? We only have to answer each other." Yuri leaned up, then properly climbed onto Otabek's lap. He forced the latter to cradle him to his chest, and Otabek obliged with a smile. 

"They constantly have something to complain about. My parents, your parents, everyone. I don't want that. I just want …" He shrugged and hid his face against Otabek's chest. 

"I'm sorry. I should have asked you first." 

"Yeah." 

"I just … you looked so comfortable." 

Yuri raised his head and swallowed, frowning softly. "I'm comfortable with them because they aren't around to criticise me." 

"Oh." 

"Yeah." 

Otabek's eyes fell on the gym bag. "Am I allowed to take my clothes back into the bedroom?" Yuri's head dropped and he nodded. Otabek thought he might have heard a sorry. "Do I still have to sleep on the sofa?" 

"Shut up." They gave each other a tiny smile, then Otabek dropped his head down enough so their foreheads would touch. 

"I'm sorry. I love you. I just wanted—" 

"What's best for me. I know. But next time, ask an expert for that. Like, I don't know, me." 

Otabek nodded and kissed Yuri's forehead, as one of the kittens slowly climbed up his leg. Yuri reached out and looked it over, eyes curious for more than they could see. 

\---------- 

"This will be the actual fucking worst." Mila shook her head from the sofa. "Both in-laws. What were you thinking?!" 

"Nothing. Beka didn't think." Yuri rolled his eyes and stretched to wipe the higher shelves. Mila came over to rescue him and do it for him. 

"They will totally gang up on you." 

"Right?" 

"Thanks for helping, Mila." Otabek's voice was tense. He was currently repotting the plant they recently bought to liven up the empty pots. 

"Oh, come on. You could have thought about that yourself." Leo handed Otabek a tiny shovel. "It's like your wedding all over again." 

"Oh, right! You were there, right?" Guang Hong poked his head up from the kitten nest. "Was it as uncomfortable as Yuri made it sound?" 

"Depends." Leo shrugged and helped to gather the excess soil in a plastic bag. "If you expected a straight wedding, it was good. If you knew neither of the grooms is straight, it was hella uncomfortable." 

Otabek shook his head at him. "You didn't know. You asked me later on in the plane why I'm marrying—if I'm gay—" 

"Friendly reminder that 'woman' isn't a slur just because Yuri doesn't identify as such." Mila tipped her glass towards him and Otabek made a face. 

Guang Hong started to gather cat toys, before neatly storing them into the container that Yuri and Otabek had solely bought for this visit. So it looked like stuff wasn't constantly all over the apartment. "When will the rest be here?" 

"Chris and Phichit won't come, Minami isn't sure yet if he'll make it in time before we have to leave for  _ the parents. _ " 

"Are they still not talking?" Otabek had heard different things from different people, but maybe someone knew something certain. 

Mila shrugged and sipped her wine. "They totally fucked again. I recently saw them in a club together. Completely slobbering all over each other." 

"Weird.” Frowning, Sara continued, "Phichit told me it's over." 

"Are we sure he was talking about Chris?" Otabek looked around, but everyone seemed surprised by the implication. "I mean, maybe it was about his boyfriend." 

Sara squinted, now deep in thoughts. "Oh. Yeah. Maybe. Weird he never spoke about him, right?" 

"You think he made him up?" Guang Hong grinned. "That would be a bit much. Although, it would be the plot twist of the century." 

Otabek knew that wasn't the case. He had a name. And an offense against Chris. But if Phichit and him were actually seen kissing … "Maybe he left him for Chris?" 

"EEEEEH." Mila made a loud, annoying buzzer noise. "I doubt it. Phich and him were always very vocal about it being just sex." 

"Also, Phichit is poly." Yuri wiped off the TV screen, his back to the group. He made sure to be audible by speaking louder. "Why would he break up now for Chris if it worked?" 

"Likewise, though," Leo offered, "Why break it off with Chris?" 

"Maybe we should—you know—just ask them?" 

"I wish, Ji." Mila kept swiping over the shelves, now that she was standing. "But they aren't here."

Sara snickered. "Should we call?" Everyone giggled, but they were interrupted swiftly by the doorbell. 

"Shit!" Yuri straightened up, but Otabek was quicker. "Please be Minami. Please be Minami!" 

Otabek hoped so, too, but once he opened the door—

" Бекам!" Medina crashed into him with a squeal. Her arms flew around his neck, and she beamed as if he was the best thing she'd seen in months. "You're the best thing I've seen in months!" Medina kissed his cheek. Okay then. 

Otabek laughed and hugged her back. "Please tell me you're alone." 

"Yeah. I got rid of ana and äke. Yuri and you have to adopt me now." 

"IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!" Otabek gave his husband an angry look, and Yuri lowered his arms. "That Medina is here. That's what I meant." 

"I'm sure." Rolling his eyes, Otabek stepped to the side to allow his sister in. "Where are they?" 

But Medina wasn't even listening. She stormed in and hugged everyone on sight. "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THE GANG IS HERE!" 

The doorbell rang again. 

"Please be Minami, please be Minami …" This time, Yuri was right. Medina whipped around and hugged the small man enthusiastically, who squealed almost as much as she did, once he understood what was going on. 

"Where is Chris?" She looked around the room, but couldn't find her friend. 

"Phichit and him aren't here." Walking over, Yuri hugged her softly. 

"Oh." Otabek had to smile when Medina deflated a little. "Will they come?" Yuri shook his head, disappointed on Medina's behalf. She mirrored his expression openly. 

Mila decided to tease a little. "Pretty rude to pick favorites like that." But Medina looked as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar and blushed, so Otabek decided to jump in. 

"They are friends. They text a lot." 

"Really?" The surprise was palpable; everyone knew Chris as the type of person who wasn't exactly open in his communication. 

Nodding, Medina returned to Otabek and hugged him again. "I hoped he would be here so we could talk. I thought he might needed an ear, after Phichit … " she trailed off and hid her face. 

"What—after Phichit?" The mood seemed to shift in the room, everyone zeroing in on her. 

"Guys, girls, genderqueers. Focus and leave the child alone. We need to make this whole place sexy before our parents arrive. You only get your reward if my mother-in-law doesn't find  _ anything _ to clean." 

"Reward?" Medina looked up at Otabek while the rest of the group scattered like cockroaches. They were immediately busy cleaning again. 

"Yura promises to bake muffins for them." 

"They are cleaning your apartment for muffins?" 

"No. They are cleaning for us because they know how stressed out Yura is. But they really love muffins on top." 

Medina smiled. "I can cook something!" 

With a kiss to the top of her head, Otabek followed her further into the hallway. "Don't you want to meet the kittens?" 

Medina's eyes widened enough to bulge. "THE KITTENS!" 

She was racing off before they could even tell her where to go. 

\---------- 

A few hours later, the last traces of disorder were gone. Otabek wondered if they should take pictures of the apartment; it wouldn't look that clean ever again. 

At his feet, Medina was playing with the kittens, while Yuri sat next to him and read. He was in a wide Christmas sweater with the ugliest print he could find and wore light make-up. 

The doorbell tore through the peaceful quiet, startling all of them. "So it begins." Yuri climbed to his socked feet and glided down the hallway to the front door. 

"Do you think he will be okay?" 

"I'll make sure of that." Otabek straightened up and brushed the creases out of his clothes. Medina climbed onto the sofa, leaning into Otabek's space, and he wrapped his arm around her. "You've grown." 

"It would be bad if I shrunk, wouldn't it?" He grinned and booped her nose, causing Medina to go cross-eyed and then frown. "Can I stay with you guys tonight?" 

Otabek nodded. Of course she could. "Your room is ready for you." Medina squeezed him and kissed his cheek. 

"I'm glad to be back." 

The front door opened and Otabek heard the typical noises. Greetings, clothes rustling, shoes being taken off. Yuri advised them how to do so without getting the sloshy remains everywhere. Then, his mother and father walked in. Danata and Batima decided to stay home this year, only Medina fought tooth and nail to come. Otabek was very much okay with that. 

"Beka!" His mother stumbled into the room, barely relieved of her winter coat but already on her way to smother her son. Yuri, standing in the door with her shed clothes, rolled his eyes. At least Otabek's father greeted Yuri properly. Before being able to properly turn around, Otabek was caught in a hug he hadn't asked for. But at least his mother smelled comforting. 

"Hi." She leaned back, looking as if she was about to scold him for his casual greeting, but then shook her head and hugged him again. "We haven't seen each other for an entire year! You never visit!" 

Oh, wow. That was fast. "You never invited us." 

"A mother doesn't have to invite her child!" 

"Yes, she does." Yuri slid up to Otabek's side and tucked himself under his arm, effectively stopping her from more awkward hugging attempts. "Just as much as a child has to invite their parents." 

No one missed the jab at their first Christmas, but everyone was too polite to talk about it. Instead, Otabek decided to greet his father and offer them some black tea. Comfort food was the key to peaceful holidays, he told himself. Medina and Yuri had prepared manti, borscht, sorpa and halva, trying to make the Altins feel as welcome as possible. 

"And your parents will join us this year, Yuri?" Otabek watched his husband's reaction closely, but other than a nod towards Otabek's father, not much happened. 

Yuri wasn't exactly a fan of the situation, but so far he had only revealed that to Medina. "They arrive in three hours. We will pick them up from the airport." 

Immediately both of them were regarded with raised eyebrows. "No one picked us up." Otabek tried hard not to waste the previous food by spitting it out. 

"That's because you've visited me a bunch of times. The Plisetskys are completely new to America." 

His mother scrunched up her nose, eyebrow still twitching high, but she turned to Yuri again. "I can't wait to see them again. We all had such a fun time during the wedding." 

"Oh, yes. Such fun times." Yuri smiled thinly, so Otabek began to rub his back. It caused his husband to curl into the touch like a happy cat. Even that was silently commented by a raised eyebrow. 

Dinner was awkward, there was no other way to put it. But they tried to stay civilised, so they had that going for them. Whenever Medina addressed Yuri with male pronouns, Otabek's mother flinched. So Medina did it more often. Yuri looked like he wanted to adopt her right then and there. 

Time dragged on, but eventually, they had to leave for the airport. "I wanna come, too!" Medina wrapped herself around their arms, binding all three of them together with all the power in her short, small limbs. 

"Don't you want to stay here with us?" 

She looked at her father and shrugged. "Nah. I'm good. I'm going with Beka and Yura if they say I can come. You can watch the kittens!" 

Yuri hugged her close. "Of course you can come. I just don't know how long it will take." 

"Maybe we should leave, then?" 

Otabek had to hide his smile when Yuri perked up like a mercat. "Maybe. My parents will go to their hotel, anyway. But tomorrow morning … it's family time." Otabek's stomach clenched at the term. The thought left him with pleasurable feelings as much as dread and fear. 

They all agreed to meet for brunch, at a place Otabek had found years ago. Medina didn't let go of him and neither did Yuri. They said their goodbyes to the Altins, then tried to fit everyone into the car without having to touch. It didn't work, obviously, so eventually they relented and chose to be adults about it. 

Or at least Yuri and Otabek did. Medina was curled around Yuri's seat for the entire drive, hugging him freely. She seemed to have overcome her little crush in favor of full-force cuddling. Although to be fair, she was doing that with both of them, so maybe it was less of a crush and more of a comfort thing. 

When they arrived, they learned the flight had been delayed. Yuri wasn't too happy because he wanted to make sure the kittens were okay, but on the other hand, he buzzed with the nervousness of seeing his parents again after more than a year. In person, not just through the phone. "What if they—" 

"Nope." 

"But if they—" 

"Nah." 

"But considering that—" 

" Юрийым." 

Yuri sighed and bit his lip. They sat on the metal chairs, waiting for two hours, but nothing really happened. Medina tried to soothe them and babbled about her so school. Otabek could tell she was trying to distract them, but when Yuri was obviously overthinking, she tapped his shoulder. "Learn Kazakh with me." 

"Huh? I … speak a bit if Kazakh." 

"Dirty talk doesn't count." Otabek got to watch the rare wonder of nature that was Yuri Altin blushing. He pursed his lips at Medina. 

"That's not all I can say." 

"Then show me?" 

"Okay, so I can obviously say  _ 'Bekam' _ . Which is  _ 'my Beka' _ . And  _ 'Yuriyim' _ , which is  _ 'my Yuri'. _ "

Medina nodded. "Did you ever consider that it's weird you're using the diminutive but he isn't?" Well, both of them were wondering  _ now _ . 

Otabek blinked and shrugged towards his husband when Yuri gave him a questioning glance. Then, he continued, "I can say  _ 'zhanym', _ which means  _ 'my soul' _ and  _ 'altinym' _ , which is  _ 'my Altin, my gold, my treasure' _ ." 

Grinning, Medina rolled her eyes. "You guys are so sappy." Both of them nodded. It wasn't exactly a secret. "What else?" 

"Hmmm.  _ 'Mahabbatym' _ , as in  _ 'my love' _ ? And  _ 'süyiktim' _ , which I think is  _ 'my dear' _ ."

"And do you know any words that aren't Otabek trying to get into your pants?" 

"Hey!" He had to protest here. "I'm trying to get into his heart. Not his pants!" Yuri gave him a long, meaningful look, and Otabek cheeks heated up but he didn't say anything else. 

"I can also say _'iya'_ for _'yes'_ , _'zhok'_ for _'no'_ and _'rakhmet'_ for _'thank you'_." Medina nodded her approval and raised her eyebrows as if daring him on. "And _'keshir'_ for _'sorry'_ and _'salem'_ for _'hello'_ and _'say_ _bol'_ for _'goodbye'_."

Smiling appreciatively, Medina kept nodding. "That's a lot!" 

"We've been married for over a year now." 

"Yeah, but both of you are fluent in Russian. You don't  _ have _ to learn our language. But you still do." 

Yuri blushed and looked down. There was a small smile on his lips. "It's what Otabek deserves." 

Medina squeezed his hand and grinned. "And you deserve to learn all the naughty words, too." 

"Oh god, please, no!" Otabek did his best to intervene, but Yuri already looked like the heavens opened for him. 

"Please, Medina. Teach me all the bad words." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter!! ARGHHH!   
> And I just finished the third book, so it will be ready for posting right after!   
> Follow me if you haven't yet to stay updated!
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap chapter 14  
> Yuri and Otabek talk and manage to ease the tension between them. Once it's clear the families come over, the gang helps cleaning. They discuss Phichit and Chris, when Medina enters. After that, they make their way to the airport to collect Yuri's parents.

"Ақымақ." 

Yuri frowned, then tipped his head down and tried for himself. "Akymak." Medina nodded, a grin on her lips. "What does that mean?" 

Otabek kept watching them, his face in his hands, as Medina proudly explained to Yuri that she had just taught him  _ 'idiot' _ . It was endearing and concerning all at the same time. Yuri looked far too happy with that. At least Medina's impromptu lesson stopped him from overthinking. 

"Иттің баласы." 

"MEDINA." 

She rolled her eyes and gave Otabek a look he couldn't really decipher. "What?" 

"He doesn't need to know that one. That gives him far too much power to do the wrong thing." 

"THE WRONG THING?" Yuri looked as if Otabek had promised him candy. "I wanna do the wrong thing!" 

"Yes, that's exactly why Medina shouldn't support you. You'll get in trouble." 

"But what am I married to a Kazakh for if I can't call him …" He looked at Medina. 

She smirked and gladly provided, "Child of a dog." 

"HOLY SHIT, you taught me how to say  _ 'son of a bitch' _ ?" Medina looked a little uncomfortable, and Otabek could see the gears in Yuri's head turning. "Okay, no  _ 'holy' _ . Sorry." Now she nodded her head in thanks, a tiny smile on her lips. 

"Yeah. I kind of taught you that. But Beka doesn't like it, obviously." Her small smile grew unreasonably larger at the thought of displeasing her brother. 

Yuri moved back and tossed his legs over Otabek's. He leaned in, tucked his head into the hollow of Otabek's neck, and whispered  _ 'Ittin balasy' _ against his skin. 

It made Otabek glare at him. How dared Yuri make him feel good and bad at the same time? Just when Otabek was about to scold him for unfairly abusing his weak spot, the announcement rang through the airport. The plane landed. Yuri's parents were there. 

From one second to the other, he was a shivering mess again, and Otabek had to admit he was grateful for Medina now, distracting Yuri for so long. 

"Hey there, Юрийым." The teasing breath against his neck turned lighter, quicker, more uneasy. Otabek cupped his cheek. "We can do this. Just a few days, right? Just a few days. And this time, it's only Medina." Yuri tilted his head down, but Otabek guided him back up and into a kiss. It was as if Yuri melted against his lips. After a moment Otabek had carved out for just the two of them, he turned to look at Medina again. "Remember. It's  _ 'she' _ with Yuri's parents around."

The latter took a small, shaky breath. "We can do this. Right?" 

"Yes, my love. Together we can do anything." Yuri punched him for being so sappy, but he was smiling a little, so Otabek knew he had won, technically. They rose and stretched, then finally made their way to the baggage claim. 

\----------

No one could have anticipated that an arriving plane meant they still had to wait 30 minutes. Well, Otabek could have, he'd been flying for most of his life. And it's not the first time they had picked someone up from an airport. But for some reason, it still felt unreasonably slow today. 

Otabek looked around. There were potted plants. Fake. No one wanted to water them, he supposed. They were covered with a thin layer of dust he desperately wanted to wipe away. Steel seats. Uncomfortable, meant to be so. No one wanted people to linger, or god forbid, come in to rest when it was cold outside. Tables sticky with enough stains to make him wonder how many different fluids were available in an airport. 

There were also people, so many people, waiting with them. Some of them held up little signs with names, addresses, codes. Whenever he left a plane, Otabek had wished as a child to be important enough for someone in a suit to wait for him,  _ 'Altin' _ in big black letters on laminated paper. It wouldn't just be the flimsy alternative. But once he got older and took over his father's offshore work, Otabek realized the reality was a lot more boring. There had been  _ 'Altin' _ signs. But none of them felt like he was an important spy or a politician or something. They all felt like  _ 'get over here so we can start working on this tedious project' _ . 

A female voice tore him from his thoughts. "YURI!" The name was shouted with an uncommon urgency, a few seconds before Ekaterina broke through the sea of people. She hurried to them and wrapped her child in a warm, excited hug. Otabek was a little dumbstruck. It simply wasn't what he expected of her.

Shortly after, Alexander made his way over, two big luggage cases dragged behind him. Otabek sprinted forward and grabbed them, helping him to maneuver them to the side. Then he was wrapped in a bear hug he didn't understand. "Otabek!" 

"Sasha, hi, welcome to—" 

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I'm glad to see you, the flight was a  _ disaster _ ." That was easy to believe with the long duration and the added delay. 

"You're here now." 

"We're here now!" He spun around, enthusiastic to greet his child, but almost stumbled into Medina. "Oh! Hello! Medina!" Alexander remembered her name? Maybe Yuri had told him she'd be there. 

"Hello, Mister Plisetsky." 

A smile, a greeting, and he was off to hug Yuri, too, who at this point looked as if Ekaterina had kept him in a death grip for minutes. The entire situation was surreal. When Otabek was in Russia, he always felt as if the Plisetskys tried to get rid of Yuri, but now … it made Otabek smile. Especially because Yuri looked significantly less scared and a lot happier. 

"Let's bring you home." Yuri held on to his father, smiling softly. "We already ordered a taxi for your luggage. You can decide if you want to travel with the taxi, too, or drive home with us. But there’s not a lot of space. 

"I don't care. My Yuri. I want to be with you, love." Ekaterina stepped forward to hold his hand. Yuri looked almost shy, but he smiled all too softly. Otabek's heart was melting. 

"Didn't you say they would immediately go to the hotel?" Yuri turned and glared at Medina, who blushed, looking as if Yuri accused her of murder. 

Otabek jumped in. "Yeah, we said that, but mostly because we wanted both families to have a chance to arrive in peace. Sasha and Katya haven't been to this part of the States yet, so we wanted to be able to show them in peace how we live. You know that wouldn't have been possible with ana around." 

"Oh, yes." Medina agreed. "She can be  _ so  _ exhausting. That's true." 

The Plisetskys seemed placated, so Otabek took over their luggage and helped them to the taxi. Otabek didn't want to think about the late fees it cost them to keep it waiting, but he should have known when he grabbed his wallet that it wouldn't be an issue. Alexander paid before Otabek could even blink, including a proper tip. The woman behind the wheel looked at him as if she'd seen a ghost. 

Once everyone was in the car and the taxi behind them, Otabek drove them home. Through the rearview mirror, he watched Yuri in the backseat, wedged between his parents, whenever he got the chance. He looked so … calm. It was a surprise, probably to all of them. On the other hand, Yuri had been almost meek back in Saint Petersburg. At least around his parents. 

They reached the apartment without any issues, collected the luggage, and made their way upstairs. Otabek was nervous. It was unusual for him, but that didn't save him from the feeling. After all, two and a half years after the wedding, the Plisetsky family would see their apartment for the first time in person. 

He inhaled deeply, unlocked the door. Yuri wandered in, followed by Medina. "This is how we live!" He spun, arms stretched out, proudly presenting them the place they carved for themselves in the world. 

Alexander nodded, but Ekaterina looked as if she had bitten into something sour and was trying to keep a straight face. That was a great start. 

Yuri presented them the living room and the kitchen, undeterred by their lack of enthusiasm, until they stumbled in on the kittens in the bedroom. Now, the excitement was palpable. Ekaterina seemed to melt, and Potya looked as if she was close to a heart attack, before she angrily turned around. What? She had been their cat for a few years after all—but then Otabek remembered that cats were assholes and she was probably offended because it took them so long to meet her again. Luckily, Yuri's parents laughed it off. 

They finished the tour of their rooms, then returned to the living room. Medina handed out cups of hot chocolate, chocolate sprinkles on top. Otabek pulled her into a half hug and kissed her head, only then registering the pleased expression on Alexander's face. 

"Thank you so much, Medina. Please don't take this the wrong way, but how come you are here?" 

She beamed at her brother-in-law and then her brother himself. Otabek hugged her again. He loved that child so much. If he could, he would keep her. 

"I missed Beka and Yuri. I spent the summer with them and it was one of the best times of my life. So I was very eager to return, Mister Plisetsky." 

Alexander didn't seem surprised about the information, so Yuri had most likely shared pieces of their summer with them. Instead, he grinned at him. "Are you practicing to make us proud?" 

To the untrained eye, nothing happened with Yuri's face. But Otabek saw how his smile shifted from  _ 'relaxed' _ to  _ 'strained' _ in a second. Yuri shrugged, trying a little too hard to look nonchalant. "Medina is family. She's easy to be around." It answered none of the implied things, but Alexander nodded and looked away. 

Ekaterina wasn't as merciful, though. "That's what the kittens are about, aren't they, Yurochka?" Technically, she was right. That's what Otabek and Yuri had agreed upon, together and consensually. But hearing someone else point it out like that made it weird. 

Yuri shrugged, his smile now more obviously fake, and made his way to Otabek, so he could tuck himself under his arm. "We will see." 

"Oh my God, is that why you invited us ov—" 

"Ssshh! Don't spoil it." Ekaterina never seemed to go against her husband, seeing she would for that topic alone made Otabek uncomfortable. He tightened his hold on his husband. 

Yuri bristled in his hold. "I'm not pregnant. If that's what you are waiting for, it won't come. I can't have children." 

They stared at him. That was apparently new information to them. Ekaterina's small mouth formed an almost perfect  _ 'o' _ , then she was suddenly at their side, clutching Yuri's hand. "My poor baby. My poor darling. Oh, love. Oh, don't worry. We will love you. Otabek still loves you, right?" She looked at him with a hint of panic in her eyes, as if this revelation would shatter his love. 

"Of course I love Yuri. More than anything." 

A sigh, as if she actually feared Otabek would try to return Yuri to them, handing him back like damaged goods. "We will find a solution, baby. Don't worry. You'll be able to make your husband happy." 

"Thank you very much," Otabek tried to interrupt, "but Yuri already makes me incredibly happy. I don't need a child for that. Never did, never will." 

She looked at him like his own mother did. As if he was a brave soldier, returning from the war, missing a limb, but still walking upright. "Oh, Otabek. I knew you were the right choice for her." 

Yuri, in his arms, turned to ice. 

\---------- 

"I don't fucking want them to pity me. I don't fucking need it! Who do they think they are?!" 

"Your parents, love. They are your parents. And that's how they behave. I mean—" 

"I don't want to hear it! Sorry, Beka, but not today. I don't want to hear it today." Yuri shook his head and dropped onto their bed, obnoxiously loud because he was trying to be a bother. Otabek didn't know why. It wasn't like Yuri's parents were still around to witness his anger. There was only Otabek and Medina, but she was in bed already. 

"Hey, come here. We can—" 

"I said I don't want to hear it! Leave me alone with it!" 

He paused, giving Yuri a long look. Otabek exhaled softly. Weight settled in his chest. Seeing Yuri like this always pained him. On the one hand because Yuri would shove him away, on the other hand, because Yuri himself struggled a lot. Another deep breath and Otabek tried again after letting a moment of silence pass. Yuri calmed down rather quickly whenever one didn't confront him about his anger. But if Otabek tried to argue, it was a surefire way to get them into trouble. 

"I wanted to suggest cuddling. That's it. I get that you don't want to talk about children. Again." 

Yuri visibly deflated. Then, he turned and crawled into the bed, his pacing interrupted by the need for proximity. He was drawn tight like an arrow most of the time, but when released, Yuri would crumble into cuddles and kisses and silent sobs. "I just … I can't, Beka. Not again. 

Otabek nodded. It was ironic in a way. Both of them loved children. Both of them wanted children. But the pressure of their parents always halted any plans they spoke about. 

"Mama said this apartment is too small to raise kids. We have an entire guest bedroom. What are they talking about? So much space." Yuri shook his head and adopted a higher-pitched voice. "’Kids need room to play. You need to get a house with a garden, so they can play.’" His voice dropped again, turning cold. "Apparently every child ever raised in an apartment was violated in their experience of freedom." Yuri sneered and rolled his eyes, causing Otabek to pull him into a tighter hug. 

"I don't think that's actually what they mean." 

"I think it is." 

"Okay then." He dropped his gaze and leaned back, giving Yuri space. Sometimes, that was all he needed. 

A few minutes later and, true to Otabek's prediction, Yuri cuddled up to him again, demanding to be held by simply coiling himself tightly around Otabek. "I'm so tired of this whole thing. I don't have to have children to be a proper wife. And I'm not a wife. I just …" 

Deciding to focus on Yuri's happiness, Otabek moved back and held his slightly protesting husband at arm's length. "We won't find a solution to all of this tonight. But if we have to try … should I get you some ice cream?" 

A soft nod, big, big eyes. Surprise on Yuri's lips, then a tiny  _ 'yes, please' _ . Otabek gave him his softest smile and got up. When he returned, he found Yuri curled into their bed, the kittens crawling on top of him. 

He blessed Otabek with a tiny smile, so of course, he had to return that. Yuri was the most beautiful person, even when he cried. 

Otabek settled next to him and began offering little spoonfuls of the delicious treat. Yuri was the type of person who could eat the entire ice cream container in a night and not gain a single pound. But he was prone to get brain freeze, so most of the time, he let Otabek feed him. At least that was the official reason. Otabek suspected sometimes his husband simply loved to be pampered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I miscount last week? Yes. Is this the last chapter? No. Next week will follow the last chapter of omgtwh 2, then the week later I will post the first chapter of omgtwh3.  
> If you want to make sure you aren't missing out, subscribe to me as an author or to this series, so you can continue the adventure of those lovely two boys with me! ♥
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
> I'm also on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/venom-for-free)[, Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/venom_for_free/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/venom_for_free)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap Chapter 15:   
> Yuri's family arrives at the airport and they bring them home. They are very enthusiastic to get to know Otabek's place and their way of life. When they find out Yuri is in fact not pregnant, they react with pity. Yuri is enraged by their reaction, but Otabek takes care of him.

"Good morning and merry Christmas." Otabek awoke to a sensation that would kill lesser men. One of Yuri's hands was curled around his shaft, the other played with his balls. Yuri's lips were on Otabek's tip, sucking lightly, just enough to trap all the blood there. 

"Uuuuh … good morning, baby …" 

Yuri smirked and swallowed him deeper, before he came back up to talk. His hands never stopped moving, though. "You took such good care of me yesterday. I just  _ had _ to say  _ 'thank you' _ ." 

Otabek nodded along, as if he understood why that meant a good morning blowjob. Not that he would complain. "We should get up soon … our parents … the brunch …" But Yuri tightened his hold, pressed his lips closed around Otabek and moved his demon mouth up and down Otabek's shaft until basic logic, reasoning, and active thinking went out the window. 

Otabek didn't know why Yuri loved giving blowjobs so much, but he quite liked the result of Yuri's passion, so he began to move more actively. 

When Yuri realized Otabek wanted to thrust, he backed away and opened his mouth and throat, offering himself up to be used like a toy. 

One hand buried in the beautiful, middle-length golden locks, Otabek began to push Yuri down onto himself. With the simultaneous curl of his hips, that was quite a lot, but Yuri took it in stride, eyes begging for more. 

"Do you …" Otabek cleared his throat. "Do you want to get off, too?" 

There was a grin on Yuri's face, lips stretching around the heavy cock in his mouth. He shook his head, then worked Otabek deeper into his throat with the expertise of someone doing this kind of thing for fun. 

Otabek’s hips stuttered. It was hard to focus when Yuri was so perfect, so hot, so beautiful. And so welcoming to his rougher handling. A long look from between Otabek's legs, and Yuri began to deepthroat him, eyes constantly on his husband. 

It was a lot. It was enough. It wasn't. Yuri's hands worked him constantly, squeezing and stroking until he was a twitching mess. Otabek's stomach drew tight at the sight of pink lips, darkened from sucking so much, wrapped around his length. And when Yuri closed his eyes and began to lick him up and down like a popsicle … 

"Holy shit, baby …" 

A hum that shot through every part of him. Otabek's bones seemed to vibrate with the intensity, his blood rushing through his ears loud enough to deafen him to the entire world except for the man between his legs. His spine tingled, he was tense and light and hot and cold and all at the same time, just because Yuri decided Christmas should be approached from the naughty list. 

Drool ran down his dick, the sight making something in him snap. Otabek tightened his hold in Yuri's hair. When the latter went lax and opened his eyes, just to look at him in a haze, Otabek gave up the pretense of control. 

His breath stuttered, it was hard to inhale, but that was okay, he didn’t need to breathe; he just needed to cum down Yuri's throat. 

So he did, with rough grunts and soft whimpers. Otabek twitched, reveled in the warmth of Yuri's mouth being filled and then emptied again when his husband swallowed. He was oversensitive from his orgasm, and the motion bordered on painful. 

Yuri looked as if it was him who came. He smiled and lapped around Otabek's dick, making sure no residue was left. Content with himself, he swiped his thumb over the corner of his lips and sat back up. "Merry Christmas, teddy." 

_ Merry Christmas, indeed _ . 

\---------- 

"All I'm saying is, if the bank gets a call from a hedge fund or an asset manager and he tells the trader at the bank that—" 

"No business talk at the table." Ekaterina glared at the two men completely engrossed in their work. "We are here to eat lunch together, spend time with the kids, and relax a little. Don't bring work into this." 

Otabek was grateful for her asserting those rules, mostly because he knew his father would expect from him to join at some point. To make business connections. With his in-laws. Rarely did Otabek feel like a strategic piece on a chessboard, but whenever his father tried to ask him about the Plisetskys, it was a constant. 

It was impossible to understand, according to his father, why Otabek didn't actively pursue a business partnership. But Yuri once told him about how much Alexander despised friends trying to strike up business with them and that it tainted the entire friendship. So Otabek wouldn't be dumb enough to be one of those people. Unlike his father, right now. 

But Alexander looked quite pleased with the conversation, so at least they hadn't managed to ruin the brunch. 

Yuri struggled to find his appetite, but every time someone asked him why he barely ate anything, he smiled and told them he  _ 'already ate at home' _ . Not even the third repetition made it easier for Otabek to hide his blush. No one noticed, as it seemed. 

"So." Alexander leaned over the heavy, beautiful wood table. "When do you want your Christmas gift?" 

Yuri's head started to raise slowly. He smiled carefully, although quite confused. Otabek recognized the way his brows wrinkled with the lip twitch. "You don't have to give us anything. You flew to America, after all, and—" 

"Oh, honey. Oh, my darling. Please, don't act like we didn't already get you whatever nice thing made me think of you." Ekaterina smiled at Otabek, and he returned the gesture, but from the corner of his eyes, he noticed the scowl on his mother's face. 

Just a second later, she quipped. "Yes, exactly. Right? How can they think we didn't think of them? It's Christmas." 

This time, it was Medina who raised her head, momentarily abandoning the slice of orange she had been sucking on. "None of us celebrates Christmas."

"Of course not." Ekaterina reached over the table and squeezed her hand. Medina looked confused, their mother almost offended. "But we are here, together as a family, and it doesn't matter what time of the year it is and what holiday. The only thing that matters is us being happy. And our Yurochka …" She turned to look at her son. "She's making us so happy all year. Why not reward her and her lovely husband today?" 

Otabek smiled at the compliment, mostly because it left his own parents red. His mother tried to salvage the situation. "Why don't we get to the gifts at home, then?" 

Ekaterina nodded and Alexander looked up from the newsfeed on his phone long enough to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. 

It was a beautiful mess, promising chaos. And if Otabek interpreted the smile on Yuri's face correctly, his little beloved gremlin was here for it. 

\---------- 

The Altins conveniently had to venture into the city before they could do the gift giving. Otabek grinned when his mother admitted that because everyone in the room knew it was a confession, but no one said anything. Although, Ekaterina looked quite smug about it. Otabek decided it was okay, though, and she deserved it. 

Minami, Mila, and Yuri had invested an entire day into handcrafting gifts for their families. They made little self-care bundles that could be taken on the plane with them and weren't too large, but tried to convey love and attention nonetheless. Or at least, a healthy respect for each other, in Yuri's case. 

"I don't think ana and äke actually got you anything," Medina admitted as she stored her gifts under the tree Yuri had insisted on. It wasn't a pine, but it would work well enough. 

"No shit. They both looked like they were about to—" 

"Yuri." Otabek knew if he didn't stop his husband right now, he would only get more vulgar. And even though usually he didn't mind, it wasn't necessary with Medina right next to them. Their parents were convinced they were a questionable influence as it was. 

He seemed to understand because Yuri nodded, snapped his mouth shut, and began to hang little plastic balls onto the leaves of their improvised tree. 

It looked incredibly weird, there was no way around admitting that, because no leaves graced the lower half. They had to cut them off so the cats wouldn't knock it over. That was also the reason why they put up plastic ornaments instead of glass. 

"Do you have gifts for them?" 

Otabek nodded, setting down a tray of cookies and hot chocolate at the table. When Lutz eyed it with great interest, he put a glass dome over it. "Yes. Yuri did some super cool artsy stuff." 

"That's like, the booklet description of my studies." 

Snorting, Otabek walked over to the tree and pulled Yuri into a kiss. He was wearing his hair open, half of it hidden under a giant Santa hat. There was barely any makeup on his face and the hoodie he was wearing was stolen. "You are so beautiful. Especially in the fairy lights." 

Medina rolled her eyes, got up, and walked to her room, not saying anything until she reached her door. "Our parents arrive in 30 minutes. I'll be in here praying. Come and get me when they are here, okay?" Her  _ 'I won't leave this room until you tell me to.'  _ was implied. 

Once the door closed, Yuri gave Otabek a confused look. "What? All you did was to give me a compliment? Is that code for  _ 'I wanna fuck you under the Christmas tree'  _ now?" 

"Maybe she knows what a horny mess you are." Otabek knew Yuri wanted to be annoyed with him, but he blushed and breathed a soft moan. God damn it. That man was dangerously gorgeous. "We shouldn't fuck under the Christmas tree."

Yuri shook his head. "No. We really shouldn't." His hand trailed over Otabek's chest, stomach, and to the edge of his pants. Yuri caressed the skin above his belt. 

"We should at least go to the bedroom …" Otabek's voice was a breathy moan. Yuri hummed his confirmation, but began kissing Otabek harder, demanding entry into his mouth and access to his tongue. He liked biting and being bitten, so Yuri wasn't shy about the intensity he wanted to be kissed with. One of his hands disappeared into Otabek's pants, rubbing his front. "Yuri …" A whine, deep in his throat, as long, thin fingers wrapped around him, squeezing with well-known pressure and intention. "We shouldn't do this here …" 

Yuri grabbed both of Otabek's hands and put them onto his ass, first above the fabric, then lower. "If we leave, the cats will destroy the presents." 

He couldn't believe Yuri was horny enough to try and fuck in the living room. Maybe Medina did know more about his boyfriend than he did, after all. 

"We already had sex this morning, baby, and—" 

"If you don't want to, say stop and I'll immediately back off." He carefully lifted his hand off of Otabek, but that was a mean trick because by now, he had gotten used to the pressure, craved it. Otabek whined and Yuri's hand fell back onto him. "It's Christmas, after all." 

"We don't even celebrate Christmas." 

"Now we do." And oh god, it wasn't fair how beautiful Yuri looked in the soft yellow light, cheeks rosy and with an excited smile. "I wish you could fuck me right now. Just … right here, beneath the ugly tree our families will sit around in less than an hour. I miss your cock." 

"It's been a few days." 

"Exactly my point." Yuri pulled him out of his confines and moaned from touching the silky skin alone. "Good thing I have a mouth, right?" 

Otabek whined deep in his throat. Another Christmas that was neither a silent nor a holy night. Although Yuri tried to keep it together for Medina. 

It took them twenty minutes to get off, Otabek in Yuri's mouth and then Yuri riding his leg. The rest of the time was spent cleaning up and fixing their outfits. When the doorbell rang, Yuri was drinking his second cup of cocoa because he was too smug to brush his teeth, and Otabek insisted on him at least washing out his mouth. 

The Plisetskys arrived first. They sat down on the sofa, determined to get their son to chat with them. When Yuri looked comfortable enough with it, Otabek left to get his sister. 

A gentle knock on the door and Medina's voice from the inside, asking who there was. Once Otabek identified himself, she asked him in. 

"Pray with me, Beka?" He nodded and sat down next to her. Otabek didn't feel connected to any god he would want to talk to, but he knew it made Medina happy. "I'm asking for forgiveness since we celebrate the birth of another god's son today." 

That was … a thing, yes. Otabek kissed her forehead and knelt down next to her. He didn't even realize how much time passed, until Yuri knocked on the door. 

"I'm sorry to bother you, but your parents are here." 

Otabek thanked his husband before they finished their prayer together. Then, he helped Medina up and hugged her. "Are you okay with all of this?" 

She smiled, face buried against his chest and nodded. "Yes. I wouldn't have come here if I was unsure." 

He squeezed her tight. "Thank you for coming around. I don't know what I'd do without you. Our family is so …" 

"I know." Of course Medina knew. "But I'm not like them. I'm proud of you. And I love you." 

Fuck. Otabek felt like a man-baby, but the tears in his eyes were a thing. He kissed Medina's forehead and then hid in her hair, trying to hide his emotional reaction without pushing her back. She giggled and squeezed him. "Come on. Before ana and Misses Plisetsky jump each other in their friendliness." 

Otabek laughed. That wouldn't happen, but the thought was hilarious. 

\-----------

He was wrong. Otabek had fooled himself yet again into believing that being an adult meant acting like one. Even though he had seen numerous cases of that logic not applying at all, he kept believing in the rationality of people. 

Which, as it turned out, had been a misstep. 

Both the Altins and Plisetskys had arrived with enough gifts for a small army. Otabek wondered if Alexander and Ekaterina had anything else in their luggage. At all. Medina gaped at the mountain of glittery paper, holding on to the kittens in her lap as if they were a lifeline. Even Yuri was silenced by the blatant display of competitive behavior. 

"Maybe," Otabek tried to ease the tension caused by overly friendly smiles, "we can eat, first?" 

"Of course, darling! It's your home! We want you to be comfortable! And we're so glad you invited us! Did we already tell you?" Ekaterina's excitement seemed to be only a  _ little _ forced. 

"Oh, yes, of course. You're here for the first time, right? We already spent last Christmas together." 

Yuri gave Otabek an uneasy look. During their wedding, their mothers had been glued together at the hip, drinking and laughing and freely talking. Now, they looked like two lionesses fighting over the carcass of their family relationships. 

"So I've heard. But you visited on your own, right? We wanted to wait for an invitation, to make sure our darling actually wants us here. It can be  _ so  _ unpleasant when family shows up announced. Trust me, Yuri told me  _ all about it. _ " The smile accompanying her words could just as well have been constructed around fangs, injecting venom through words. 

"Why would our Beka not want us here? Last Christmas was beautiful. I'm so sorry you missed it." Their fathers gave each other an apologizing look. At least not everyone was involved. 

"And did you ask Yurochka, too? It's her home as well." 

"Of course it is. She's such an important part of our family. We love her dearly." 

Yuri scrunched up his nose, looking at Otabek as if he desperately wanted to roll his eyes. 

"Oh, yes. Yes of course. And your Otabek is an angel. But we knew that already. After all, he lived with us for a while before the wedding." 

Otabek wished he didn’t have to watch this weird competition he didn't understand. Medina and Yuri looked as if they wished to be eaten by the floor, too. 

"And now, your daughter is here, in America, and isn't she happy? Being able to be herself however she wants. Yuri, you’ve changed a lot since the wedding, haven’t you?" That was a fucking low blow. Ekaterina inhaled sharply and looked at her child. Yuri was busy glaring at his mother-in-law, though. 

"I sure did." 

"And do you enjoy being able to go to university? Higher education is so important, isn't it?" This time, Alexander's head snapped up, too. Yuri going back to school had been a sensitive topic for weeks, but in the end,  _ Otabek's _ word counted, and he allowed Yuri to go. 

"I sure do." 

Fuck, who adjusted the room temperature? It was suddenly ten degrees warmer. Otabek had cold sweat forming at the base of his spine. His shoulder blades itched. Maybe he could grab Yuri's and Medina's hands and run. He wanted to. 

Ekaterina's sour expression eased a little and she leaned back with an almost self-satisfied smirk. "At least I didn't call her names when she cut off her hair." 

"If you were so okay with it, why did she wait until she was in America?" 

"Hey!" Yuri looked between them, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm right here, okay? Quit that! Just eat!" His outburst helped silence the fighting parties for most of the duration of the meal. 

They had traditional Kazakh food. Otabek and Yuri wanted to keep it one hundred percent halal, so to them, it was an easy compromise. Had Otabek known his mother would use it as fuel, thought … 

"That was delicious. Thank you, all three of you." She nodded at Yuri and Medina, then smiled towards Otabek, as if he had handcrafted the entire world. A man cooking was still absurd to her, but apparently, right now it was okay, since she could flaunt it. 

"Ah, yes. My Yuri makes amazing pirozhki, too! You should try those, you'll love them. You can make them with different fillings, of course, so no pork has to be included." Ekaterina was answered with a thin smile. 

"Oh, I know Yuri is an excellent cook. During Ramadan, she cooked for Beka every day, all our traditional dishes." Otabek was irked by her tone. The ridiculous pride bothered him. After all, back when it happened, she offered more criticism than praise. 

"We have the best kids, don't we?" Alexander leaned forward and kissed Ekaterina's cheek. The entire thing was laughable, and Otabek couldn't believe Yuri's father was jumping into it as well, but then, his own father decided to join. 

"That's why they deserve all the finer things in life." It didn't help that their families came from money, not at all. But Otabek wasn't sure his parents were aware what they were getting into. The Plisetskys had more money than they knew how to spend. When Yuri complained about noisy neighbors once, they got giddy planning to buy the entire building so they could throw them out. It had taken longer than any of them wanted to admit to convince the Plisetskys not to follow through. 

If their smile was any indication, they were ready for this fight.  _ How _ well prepared both parties were was a surprise to everyone, though. 

The families had amassed valuable goods to an extent that had Otabek's head aching. Jewelry for Yuri, expensive enough to buy a small car from. Brand clothes and a suit for Otabek. A wellness gift card to both of them, watches costing enough to buy another car. Also, a fucking car itself. Yuri and Otabek stared at each other, shrinking more and more into themselves. They hadn't asked for this. Whatever weird fight they were having, it was getting seriously uncomfortable. 

When Alexander was about to announce their grand piece, apparently a fucking weekend house in the suburbs, Yuri couldn't stand it anymore. He jumped up and yelled for them to stop. Otabek was frozen in place. Everyone in the room stared at Yuri, who was hyperventilating. He clutched his chest, hand bundling up the material. The tension was palpable. Otabek knew whatever Yuri had planned would probably cause all kinds of trouble, but at this point, he was thinking about saying something himself. Instead, he watched his panting husband now. After a few seconds, Yuri straightened up a little bit. 

"You all want to fight about who loves us more? Who deserves to be here, and who's the best parent? None of you know. None of you  _ fucking _ know anything. Except Medina." 

He smiled at the kid, who blushed and curled into Otabek, trying to hide from the impact of the situation. Otabek knew what was about to happen. At the same time, he dreaded it. Because once the secret was out in the open, they would never be able to take it back. Yuri seemed to realize that, too. He turned around and gave Otabek a long look, silently asking for permission. With a kiss to Medina's head, Otabek stood up and walked to Yuri's side, hand on his back. Yuri's smile was oozing gratefulness and affection. 

He turned and looked at the couples in front of them, sneaking one arm around Otabek to steady himself. "You can try and yell about supporting us as much as you want, but I hope you're ready for a real challenge. Which one of you is  _ actually  _ the _ better  _ set of parents?"

He looked between them as if he was a game show master, right as Medina stepped up, too, curling herself around Yuri's other arm. She didn't have to stand with them, show solidarity. It actually raised her chances of getting in serious trouble. But here she was, a fourteen-year-old girl, standing up for what she thought was right. Otabek was proud. His parents wouldn't be. 

Yuri smiled at her, then raised his gaze. There was determination in it, when he first looked at the Altins and then the Plisetskys. "Merry Christmas, everyone. I'm trans." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THIS WAS IT. 
> 
> Thank you so much for coming along for the ride!   
> Don't worry, the story isn't over yet! Subscribe to me or this series and get notified next wee, when you get to find out, how their families react to the news! 
> 
> I'm excited to present that last part to you, lovely readers.
>
>> Thank you, as always, to my wonderful editor [Taedae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taedae/pseuds/Taedae), and to you as the reader.  
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